Stone Cold
by Hitteh Pitteh
Summary: My first fic. Takes place after TRY. Zelgadiss continues his search for his cure along with the help of his friends. LG, AZ, and XF Rated 'T' just to be safe
1. Chapter 1: Zelgadiss's Treat

**Welcome:** Hello, and welcome to my first fan fiction. You may criticize my writing but please try not to flame me and also try to be patient with my horrible spelling and grammar. I spell-checked it... But the computer doesn't catch everything (and neither can I). I'm also anti-swear words. So try to put up with my 'Darn's and 'Crud's...

Also, I'm not the best at keeping everyone in character! Sorry!

**Author's Note: **As you read in the summary, this fic takes place right after TRY. It is mainly centered on AZ, but it has a nice supply of LG and XF as well. The story flips around to practically everyone's POV- but the story its self is mainly about Zelgadiss. It's rated T just to be safe.

**Disclaimer: **Nope. I don't own Slayers...

Chapter 1: Zelgadiss's Treat

"Hey, Zelgadiss-san?" Ameria Wil Tesla Seyruun asked, blowing into a steaming spoonful of her cup filled to the brim with hot chocolate. She had shoulder-length, dark purple hair and large, pure blue eyes. She wore her usual cream-colored outfit with pink trim. The princess was as perky as usual, and, of course, was the one to break the long silence that had awkwardly been stretching itself out.

"What is it?" Zelgadiss Greywords responded, sipping at his mug of coffee. From head to toe he wore white clothing, including a hood that covered his violet hair that twisted everywhere like wire. His skin was made from dark blue stone and his eyes seemed to be hiding a great sadness. The chimera was not even close to as perky as Ameria, and instead was usually very gloomy.

"Thanks for treating me," She squealed, the scalding hot chocolate burning her tongue as it entered her mouth. Zelgadiss hid the slight blush wandering across his face with his extra large mug of coffee. It was true. For the first time EVER he had treated Ameria to something. He knew it was just some hot chocolate at a not-very-fancy restaurant- but still- it was treating her just the same!

The princess had overreacted when Zelgadiss had told her that he was treating her to a drink. She had begun squealing and sprinting around his guest room in Seyruun castle, giving him awkward hugs. Zelgadiss had thought that her little "Thank You" fits were over- but here she was again, embarrassing him! Despite all that was churning through his mind, Zelgadiss just gave her a short, polite answer.

"You're welcome," He replied briskly, still covering his face with his coffee mug. The princess gave him a broad smile as she began cooling her second spoonful of hot chocolate.

"But still, Zelgadiss-san! I can't believe YOU are treating ME to a meal! Thanks again," Ameria chirped for the 500th time that night, her voice rising so high that people at the neighboring tables had begun to stare at the couple. Zelgadiss lowered his eyes, embarrassed at all the eyes focused on him. Why did Ameria have to be related to Prince Phil, the loudest, most irritating prince to ever roam the earth!

"That's fine," Zelgadiss mumbled, relieved that most of the people around had stopped staring, "I have a lot of extra money since I don't have to pay for Lina's meals anymore."

Ameria gave him another wide smile, giggling. Silence once again filled the restaurant, making Zelgadiss sigh with relief. He disliked conversations that stretched out for a lengthy amount of time.

As Zelgadiss sipped his coffee, his mind wandered back in time until about a month ago- while he was still in the outer world with the others. After a chilling fight with Darkstar, there had been a discussion about who would go where. Before they could even begin, Xelloss slipped away from the group unnoticed and his whereabouts were still unknown to Zelgadiss and Ameria.

Firia had decided to take Gravos, Jillas, and a tiny egg containing a baby ancient dragon named Valgaav to pursue her dream of running a jar shop. Zelgadiss didn't know if she had succeeded or not, but he had promised himself that he would visit her one day.

After Firia had left, Ameria had insisted that the three remaining people: Lina, Gourry and himself- accompany her to Seyruun. Lina and Gourry readily agreed, but it had taken Zelgadiss much more time to decide for himself. Finally, he gave in when Ameria informed him that there were many libraries he could check in Seyruun for his cure.

Once in Seyruun, Lina and Gourry had left together after just about a week. This didn't surprise Zelgadiss- the two of them always needed to be on the road. Ameria and he had then checked the libraries for anything that might help him convert to human form instead of his cold, stone chimera body. This didn't surprise Zelgadiss either! He had known from the beginning that Seyruun's libraries wouldn't hold anything helpful.

So why had he agreed to come to Seyruun in the first place? Zelgadiss wondered about this himself. He hadn't found an answer yet, but for some reason- he had stayed behind with Ameria.

"Zelgadiss-san?" Ameria's voice snapped him back into reality.

"Hmm?" He responded quickly, focusing his eyes on her form.

"You're spilling coffee down your shirt..." She squeaked timidly, her face red with blush, pointing a hesitant finger at him. Zelgadiss felt a burning sensation down his chest and glanced downwards. A thin trail of coffee dripped down his chin and the front of his white shirt. Zelgadiss swiftly straightened his tilting mug of coffee before it could spill even more coffee on his shirt.

Ameria squeaked and clapped her hand over her ears as Zelgadiss hissed a string of furious swear words. He slammed the mug down on the table and waiting shakily for all the neighboring people to stop staring at him. Finally, Zelgadiss took a deep, calming breath before returning his attention to Ameria.

"Sorry about that..." he groaned in embarrassment, hoping that he hadn't scared Ameria with his outburst.

"Oh no! That's fine," The princess assured him, dipping her napkin into her glass of water. When she was finished soaking the napkin, she grinned brightly and offered it to Zelgadiss.

"Er...thanks," Zelgadiss muttered awkwardly, attempting to wash out the coffee stain.

"Don't worry about it! You can get your shirt washed tonight," Ameria suggested brightly, returning to her glass of hot chocolate.

"Uh...Yes..." Zelgadiss abandoned the attempt to wash his shirt and returned his gaze to Ameria, flustered by the situation.

"What were you thinking so deeply about?" Ameria questioned, sorrowfully observing her now empty glass.

"Oh, just the battle in the outer world," Zelgadiss explained. He called the waiter over and ordered a second coffee and hot chocolate.

"Z-Zelgadiss-san!" Ameria protested meekly, "You're already treating me! I couldn't expect you to buy me a second drink..."

"That's alright," the chimera set his mug aside coolly, "This is much more interesting then hanging around by myself at the castle."

"Thank you," Ameria replied, but she said it differently this time. It wasn't embarrassing or loud this time. Her eyes met Zelgadiss's and he felt that she was thanking him for his company rather then the drink he had just bought her.

The atmosphere was peaceful. Zelgadiss realized that most of the customers had left the restaurant and the sky that could be seen from the windows was darkening. He glanced over at Ameria and saw that she was staring out the window also, a contented expression on her face.

Sensing that his eyes were on her, Ameria returned her gaze back on Zelgadiss. She seemed to be pondering how to break the silence and start a lively conversation. Zelgadiss also searched his mind for a conversation-starter- but he wasn't very good at these types of things.

"What should we do tomorrow?" Ameria beat him to the punch.

"Well, I suppose we should check another library..." Zelgadiss suggested, reaching for his second mug of coffee that had just been set before him. He wondered why Ameria was asking such a question.

"I don't mean the libraries!" Ameria explained, " What should we do, for entertainment? It should be MY treat next time!" She leaned over to take her first sip of hot chocolate, but the massive whipped cream topping stopped her. Ameria sat up straight, reaching for her spoon. She had a glob of whipped cream on the side of her nose. Zelgadiss considered telling her, but decided against it. It made her look cute. No! What was he saying! He forced his mind back on the conversation, rather then Ameria's smiling face.

"You don't owe me for anything! I'm treating you because I want to," Zelgadiss insisted, handing Ameria his own unused spoon since she hadn't been able to successfully locate her own. Ameria pouted as she stirred her whipped cream into the hot chocolate, unable to think of what to say.

"Do you think that Gourry-san and Lina-san are okay?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Yes," Zelgadiss assured her, "They're probably eating right at this minute." He realized that he was acting a lot less gloomy then usual, and that Ameria still had a whipped cream covered nose at the same time.

"Xelloss-san and Firia-san?" Ameria questioned, beginning the 'blowing on hot chocolate' process again.

"They're just fine, Ameria," He lied. The fact was, Zelgadiss wasn't sure that Firia could make enough money for three on her own, or if Xelloss had gotten into a scuffle with a powerful opponent. But if he told her that, Ameria would start panicking!

"What about you? Are you fine?" Ameria blurted out, staring into her glass of hot chocolate to hide her concern. This question caught Zelgadiss off guard. He HADN'T been fine lately. Aside from tonight, Zelgadiss had been feeling much more depressed then usual, though he didn't know why.

He had tried to hide his feelings with a forced smile, but the princess had obviously seen through it. Zelgadiss opened his mouth in an attempt to speak, but couldn't. It had been easy to lie about Xelloss and Firia, but lying about himself was harder. Zelgadiss was afraid that it might hurt Ameria if he told her that he was 'fine'.

Instead, Zelgadiss reached across the table and loosely clasped one of her hands. How smooth and tiny it was, compared to his own rocky hand. He stared intently into Ameria's eyes, showing her that he was serious.

"Ameria," Zelgadiss whispered, "I will be fine." It wasn't a lie. Ameria didn't respond but stared back at him, relieved by his answer.

Then, at the same time, both of them realized what they were doing.

"Sorry!" Zelgadiss apologized, jerked his hand away from Ameria's.

"N-no harm done!" Ameria's face was flushed and she stared back down at the table. The companions sat in silence, awkwardly trying to figure out what to say fro a few heated moments. Then:

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" The waiter, oblivious of the situation Zelgadiss and Ameria were in, stood beside their table, collecting their dirty cups. He was a young teenager who had obviously just started working.

Zelgadiss, numb with embarrassment, didn't respond for a few seconds while the message soaked in.

"O-oh! No, actually, we're ready for the bill!" Zelgadiss blurted out, still avoiding Ameria's eyes.

"Yes. Could we have the bill, please?" agreed Ameria, glancing up at the waiter.

"Alright, then," the waiter turned to go, but then turned back towards the table, "Uh... By the way, miss, you have some whipped cream on your nose..." he pointed to his own nose to show her where the cream was, and then strode away to get the bill.

Ameria felt her nose, squeaking in embarrassment as her finger connected with a glob of whipped cream. She wiped her nose off with her napkin, and then focused on Zelgadiss again.

"Zelgadiss-san? Is there anything left on my nose?" She whispered, glancing hurriedly around the deserted restaurant to see if anyone else had seen her.

"No, it's all gone," Zelgadiss assured her, "Sorry I didn't tell you earlier." The chimera was glad that the awkward stretch of time was over.

"That's fine; though it was a bit unjust of you," Ameria leaned back in her chair, slightly embarrassed by the whole whipped cream situation but otherwise fine. She grinned at Zelgadiss and he returned it with an awkward smile. The chimera observed that lately he had unable to resist smiling whenever Ameria did. It made him feel foolish.

But whatever the case, the simple night at a cheap restaurant had made Zelgadiss's depression leave him. And he sincerely hoped that it wouldn't come back for quite awhile.

**End Notes: **Sorry if this chapter was a bit on the dull side. I'll try to update as soon as possible. Please review! I need tips on how to make my writing better.


	2. Chapter 2: The Trip

**Author's Note: **just a random fact about me: I'm REALLY bad at thinking of titles. Keep this in mind as you read this story.

**Disclaimer: **I wish. But no.

Chapter 2: The Trip

Firia Ul Copt sighed with satisfaction as she observed her newly-made jar with pride, pushing her golden hair out of her face so she could see better. She didn't want to brag or anything- but it was a high-quality jar- one of her best! It was massive with a smooth, special glaze coating the whole thing. Intricate designs that had taken Firia hours to carve were coating the jar. And finally, it was done.

"This could sell for a high price!" Firia thought aloud, polishing the jar before she set it in display. At least, it had BETTER sell for a high price. Firia's business at the jar shop had been extremely slow lately. In fact, it had been snail-slow from the beginning. Perhaps it was because in the middle of no where? Or maybe because nobody in the outer world had use for jars? But whatever the case, Firia was making hardly enough money to get by. So little that Gravos and Jillas had finally left the shop.

Firia hadn't been expecting them to stay in such a dump. The house only had one bedroom, a bathroom, and a kitchen which was attached to the shop itself- all of them ridiculously cramped. She had hoped that they would stay a bit longer, though- after all, it had only been a month since she had started her jar shop.

But after a lengthy conversation, the three of them had decided that it would be best if Gravos and Jillas left the house. This left Firia with only an egg for company. Everyday she hopefully checked, but the egg refused to hatch. She had even taken it to a specialist, and had received the disappointing news that the egg probably wouldn't hatch for at least six months. So on top of business being slow, Firia was lonely. She even wished sometimes that Xelloss Metallium would stop by for one of his annoying visits, but the Mazoku's locations had been unknown since the battle in the outer world.

"What could sell for a high price, Firia-san?" An irritating, teasing voice echoed through the room. Firia took back the wish that she had thought seconds ago. Hearing the familiar sound, she flinched, setting the jar carefully on the ground. Moments after the voice, a figure appeared in the room. He had perfect, shiny purple hair, a long brown staff, and an interesting outfit. He may have looked like a human at a first glance, but he was truly a Mazoku.

"Xelloss! What do you want!" Firia glared at the priest. Xelloss levitated and sat cross-legged in mid air, a tiny, mocking smile on his lips.

"Relax. I've just come to visit my favorite golden dragon," He explained, eyeing the jars shimmering on the shelves.

"NAMAGOMI! GET OUT OF MY SHOP!" Firia roared, brandishing an immense mace. Xelloss floated nervously out of 'mace-range' before continuing the conversation.

"I was just wondering what you were going to be selling for a high price!" Xelloss protested, propping his mace up against the wall.

"A jar!" Firia snapped, lowering the heavy mace, "And where have you been all this time!" She immediately regretted saying these words. Xelloss's answer was clear to her before the words even left his lips.

"Sore Wa Himitsu Desu!" Xelloss sung, a smile still plastered across his face as he waggled his finger. Firia sighed, rubbing her temples as she felt a headache slowly entering her skull.

"Xelloss! Go away if you don't have any business here," Firia moaned, wishing he should leave. One minute with Xelloss was all the time with him she needed to get sick of him.

"But I do have business!" Xelloss insisted, levitating so he was face-to-face with Firia, "If you listen to what I have to say, I'll by one of your jars!" Firia eyed him suspiciously, wondering if this was another one of his pranks. But she definitely needed the money.

"Fine. What do you want?" Firia sighed, giving in to the Mazoku's demands in exhaustion. Xelloss cheered and lowered himself back to the ground, observing Firia's jars. He selected a tiny, red jar with interesting patterns and handed Firia the money- which she reluctantly accepted. He slipped the jar into his leather pouch hanging from his shoulder.

Firia truly wondered what he wanted. After all the fights they had gotten into, she had thought that Xelloss would have not wanted to ever see her again. It was Lina that the priest usually decided to hang around. Maybe it was because he thought that she was fun to tease?

"Weeeellllll..." Xelloss stalled for time, finding pleasure in the way Firia growled with impatience. "It's boring around here! Want to pay a visit to Seyruun?" He asked carelessly. He would have drawn out the sentence even longer, but Firia had picked up her mace again.

As soon as she picked it up, Firia dropped it in shock. The enormous mace crashed into the floor, its weight creating a gaping hole in the floor. Xelloss wanted to go to Seyruun! Why in the world would Xelloss want to go to Seyruun! And with HER of all people! Did the Mazoku ENJOY spending time with HER, A golden dragon! Firia felt blush creep across her face- her imagination getting the better of her.

"Xelloss?" She asked in surprise, waiting for him to explain his request. The priest soaked in her emotions with pleasure, obviously enjoying the suspense.

"It doesn't HAVE to be Seyruun!" Xelloss assured her, floating above the ground once again, "Just somewhere that's NOT in the Outer World!"

"But...why?" Firia managed to choke out in bewilderment.

"I told you... because it's BORING around here!" Xelloss repeated in exasperation, "Honestly, there's no other reason!" Firia tried to look into his eyes to see if he was lying, but unfortunately they were closed.

"Why do you want ME to come along?" Firia questioned, suddenly remembering her other suspicion.

"Because you're the most entertaining one in our group!" Xelloss exclaimed, and then added hastily, "And your emotions provide a perfect meal!" His explanation actually made sense to Firia. He did seem to be quite entertained by their arguments- and he had even gotten used to being called 'Namagomi' (almost). And she knew that Mazoku's fed on negative emotions- and Firia had to admit that she had many of them when Xelloss was concerned. But Firia still wasn't sure that she wanted to go on a trip with Xelloss! Besides, she was horribly low on money!

"I'll pay for traveling expenses! After all, money means almost nothing to a Mazoku!" Xelloss bribed her, "AND we might just meet up with Lina- so you won't be all alone with me!" Firia tried to stay stubborn, but was extremely tempted by the deal.

"What about Valgaav's egg!" She asked, using the first excuse that came to her mind.

"It's in here!" Xelloss slipped the jar he had purchased just a few minutes earlier. Firia noticed that he had shoved a cork into the top, "It'll be quite safe in here! I slapped a protection charm on it right after I bought it."

"When did you-?" Firia whirled around, wondering when Xelloss had moved the egg into his jar.

"Come on, Firia-san!" Xelloss begged, "Please come!" Firia thought this over. A trip to Seyruun that was 100 paid for didn't sound bad at all! Business was slow, lonely, and boring. But Xelloss's excuse was still a bit suspicious. Why was he PLEADING with her to come? Surely he didn't care about entertainment and emotions THAT much!

Another thing that bugged her was his attitude about the whole situation. Xelloss was acting as if he already had this whole conversation planned out. He seemed to have a solution for every excuse she could come up with. Firia couldn't bring herself to believe that Xelloss just wanted a harmless little trip to Seyruun! But greed got the better of her, and Firia decided to accept his offer. Also, she decided that if he was planning something- playing along would be the best way to find out what it was.

"How long are we planning on going?" Firia raised an eyebrow as she questioned him, still suspicious.

"I'll explain the details later. Do you think you can get packed pretty soon- like, in a couple hours?" Xelloss requested.

"If I find out you're lying..." Firia muttered, glaring at him piercing red eyes, radiating hatred.

"So you'll come?" Xelloss inquired hopefully. Firia didn't answer him, but instead stormed off into the other room to begin packing. When Xelloss thought that Firia couldn't hear him, he muttered, "That jar was expensive! What horrible prices...Selfish Dragon!"

"NAMAGOMI!" Firia thundered, sprinting back into the main room. Xelloss had just enough time to dodge her mace. Since Firia had keen dragon hearing, she had been able to catch his comment about the prices in her shop.

"Firia-san! I meant you no offense!" Xelloss was obviously enjoying himself as he teleported right in front of Firia's face.

"MY PRICES ARE FAIR!" Firia shrieked, swinging her mace like a bat at Xelloss. He dodged, of course- but something else was in the path of Firia's mace. The jar she had made just before Xelloss had arrived.

CRASH! Firia's hard work shattered to bits. The color left Xelloss's face as he thought of what Firia would do to him. Her eyes blazing, she turned around to face Xelloss.

"How dare you destroy my jar," Firia accused, trying to keep her voice calm- but she was obviously ready to kill the first person she laid eyes on. Sure enough, Firia positioned her hands over her chest, preparing to transform herself into a dragon and destroy the entire area.

"Firia-san! Firia-san! You can hit once with your mace if you don't turn into a dragon," Xelloss pleaded. He knew that if he teleported out of the area then Firia might not come on the trip with him.

"Really?" Firia asked, her face showing delight as she eagerly dropped her hands from her chest.

"Really!" Xelloss assured her. Firia walked slowly up to him. She couldn't wait one hit on Xelloss for free. He always teleported away, so she had never gotten to hit him.

The priest knew that it would hurt-butjudging by the condition of Zelgadiss and Gourry after they had gotten 'maced' by Firia, a Mazoku like him would be fine. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the blow. It was worth the pain to have Firia come on the trip.

Minutes later, Firia regained her senses. She realized at once that she had lost her mind once again. She held her mace loosely in one hand- so this meant that she had obviously been attacking things again. It often happened in her fights with Xelloss. Firia scanned the room to see what the damage had been. A broken jar. Darn! That was the jar that could have gotten her a high price. Was that it?

Firia glanced behind her, and noticed Xelloss. He had been crushed into the floor by some unknown force with a lump on the back of his head the size of Firia's fist.

"Oops! Did I do that?" Firia wondered, prodding Xelloss with the back end of her mace. Well, whether she had done it or not, Firia had to help him. After all, the priest had said that he wanted to leave, 'in a couple of hours'. And they couldn't exactly leave in a couple of hours with one of them knocked out cold.

Firia decided that she would pack first and then attempt to revive him. She found herself actually looking forward to this trip. It sounded as if it would be fun- even if her traveling partner was an annoying Mazoku.

**Response to Reviews:** kuro-tanuki: HWA!You gave me a A! Thank you so much! You're so much better at writing then me though...

Maddy02: Thank you for the advice and encouragement. I also love AZ fluff! By the way, 'Blue Soup' has to be one of the funniest things I've read...

Yexis Metallium: uh... I guess I'd better update then! looks at Yexis's threatening and laughs nervously Thank you for saying it wasn't dull. Your compliments mean so much to me... tears up


	3. Chapter 3: SURPRISE

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Slayers! Wow. I bet you already knew that!

Chapter 3: SURPRISE!

What had started out as a simple request had grown into quite a task for Gourry Gabriev. About one half hour ago, Lina Inverse had approached Gourry with a threatening smile pasted across her face. Even someone with the brains of a jellyfish knew what this expression meant. Lina wanted Gourry to do something for her. Lina usually started by asking politely, but if Gourry refused to bend to her demands; she'd force him to under penalty of a Dragon Slave.

At least this time Lina hadn't requested half of his money or for him to treat her to dinner (THAT usually cost him MORE then half his money). Lina had asked him to buy her an ice cream cone. Her request had startled Gourry. After all, Lina had asked for 'AN ice cream cone' and not her usual demand of 'seventeen ice cream cones'.

Gourry had thought over her suspicious behavior in his head over and over again, but had come up with no explanation. So, instead of thinking about it until his brain popped, the mercenary had decided to just go with the flow and give her what she asked.

There was only one problem. It seemed that every single person in town had decided that today was the perfect day for ice cream. AND they had all decided to get their ice cream right after lunch. AND they had decided to buy their treat at the exact same shop Gourry was in. So naturally, the place was packed.

Zelgadiss wouldn't have even lasted one minute in a place like this. Gourry wasn't exactly doing too well either. The swordsman had people crammed into him on all four sides and all the chattering of conversation had merged into one, deafening buzz.

Lina had BETTER enjoy this ice cream cone. And, Gourry wouldn't mind if she treated him to dinner for all his troubles to top it off. At least he was nearing the front of the line. His only fear was that they would run out of ice cream. THEN what would he tell Lina!

Gourry sighed, scratching his blonde-hair-covered scalp. He wished that Lina had come with him instead of waiting back at the inn. It was HER ice cream he was buying, after all. Gourry glanced hopefully at the remainder of the line. He was in luck! There were only a few more people between himself and Lina's ice cream.

But enough about ice cream. Gourry forced his mind to think of another subject. What had happened after the battle in the Outer World. Ameria had invited Lina and him to travel with her to Seyruun. Since they really didn't have any idea where else they could go, Lina and Gourry accepted the offer.

Gourry had wished that Lina had wanted to stay in Seyruun longer. He had been enjoying himself immensely since the city was so full of things to do. And to top it off, Phil had let them stay in the castle after a bit of Ameria's nagging.

Plus, Gourry couldn't help noticing how lonely Ameria was. He realized that even though he had had Lina's company all this time, Ameria had been at Seyruun without any of her friends. He knew that Zelgadiss also went on his own at the end of each adventure, but the chimera was used to being alone. At least Zelgadiss had decided to stay with Ameria for at least a bit longer then Gourry and Lina had. But the swordsman didn't know if Ameria was still with him, or if she was friendless. He decided to ask Lina if they could visit Seyruun in a couple months.

So, he couldn't help feeling a little guilty when Lina and he left Seyruun after about a week and a half. From there, Lina had decided to wander around to different towns, trying all sorts of new foods. Gourry didn't mind this plan either, but it did annoy him that Lina expected him to treat her to almost every other meal.

Finally, the two of them had arrived in this town. But they both were hoping to get out of it as soon as possible. It was a tiny town, and everything was overpriced. Unfortunately, Lina's coin pouch was almost empty too, so she had decided that they stay in town until they could find a group of bandits or something.

Gourry still didn't approve of Lina's bandit hunting, but he had decided to go along with it just this once since he desperately needed money too. Now if only they could FIND some bandits. Lina had asked people all over town, but none of them knew of any around the area.

Searching had worn out Lina, and that was why she was laying down on a comfy baed while Gourry stood on aching legs in a cramped line.

Gourry wished with all his heart that there would be ice cream left before stepping to the front of the line.

"Two... vanillas," Gourry decided, ordering one for Lina and one for himself. Lina hadn't told him the flavor that she wanted, but he at least knew that she loved vanilla. It should be a safe flavor to buy. She also hadn't told him the size that she wanted her ice cream. But Gourry made sure to order Lina's 'extra large' just to be safe.

He dug into his coin pouch, rooting around for a couple coins to pay for this. Lina's appetite had been steadily growing- and she also made him pay for all the damage she caused at hotels and buildings. So there was hardly any money in his coin pouch. But at least there was enough to pay for the ice creams. He paid for the ice creams and then attempted to exit the jammed room.

Gourry stared down and the ice cream cones as he squeezed between random people, still trying to exit. They sure didn't look like much considering how long he had waited. Even LINA probably wouldn't have thought these were worth the wait- and food meant nearly everything to her.

But Gourry still tried to look on the bright side. At least he had been able to fulfill Lina's demands. If she had asked him to treat her to DINNER, Gourry might not have been able to pay for it. He had been gradually running out of money since he had met Lina, and now he was almost out.

But, it was great ice cream. Gourry licked at his in delight, enjoying how it cooled him down on this scorching day. Nothing like Seyruun's famous soft serve, but it was still delicious. Gourry had finally managed to leave the cramped ice cream shop and was now trudging down the less-crowded street. He had made absolutely sure that he knew the way back to the inn.

Gourry could remember one time like this when he had left to buy Lina's request of 'a midnight snack' at a restaurant not too far from the inn they were staying at. But, he had forgotten to memorize the way back to the inn and had gotten lost. Lina had finally found Gourry in the morning, crouched against a wall and fast asleep- only a miniscule distance from the inn he couldn't find. But even though the whole situation had turned out okay, Gourry never wanted to get lost again.

But there were no worries in his confident mind. Gourry had carefully remembered every detail about his journey from the inn to the ice cream shop. He could even see the familiar building in the distance, and picked up his pace in fright. Lina was probably furious with impatience since it had taken him so long.

Gourry finished the remainder of his cone in one bite and stepped up to the door of their shelter. He had also memorized the steel-plated number hanging on Lina and his own rooms, making his head ache from the strain.

The hallway was lengthy and Lina's room was on the way end, next to his own. But finally, he reached the familiar wooden door with the number he remembered. Gourry turned the door knob, and found that Lina hadn't locked her door. Gourry stared at the unlocked door in concern; he had told Lina to lock her door so many times, but the sorceress never did. He would have to remind her again after she had eaten her ice cream.

Gourry opened the door, searching the room for Lina. But no one was inside. Gourry frantically scanned the room, extremely worried. Had he remembered the wrong number! No! He couldn't have. Gourry KNEW that he had memorized the right one this time. He examined Lina's door, but there were no signs of a break in.

So what could have happened to Lina? Gourry forced himself not to think of the possibilities, trying to calm himself down. He decided to check his own room for clues, and then alert the hotel manager. There was no use getting so excited. Lina might have gotten hungry and gone out to buy something.

Gourry finally got his heart rate down to normal as he forced himself to believe this. Still clenching Lina's ice cream in one fist, Gourry walked out of her room to his own room next door. He gave a timid knock on the wood surface, just in case Lina had accidentally switched rooms with him. No answer.

Oh well, it wasn't like Gourry had been expecting one. He opened the door in, still staying calm about the whole situation.

"SURPRISE!"

Gourry's eyes widened as Lina sprang right in front of his face. Why had she been hiding in his room? Relief and shock exploded through Gourry at the same time. Lina giggled mischievously when she saw his expression and backed away from him to let him think through what had just happened.

"What are you-?" was all Gourry could think to say, staring dumbly at Lina.

"I'm surprising you, Jellyfish Brains!" Lina exclaimed, still grinning pleasantly at Gourry.

"Here's your ice cream," Gourry offered, holding it out to her. Lina's behavior had confused him and all that he could understand was that Lina had wanted this ice cream. He thought that maybe she HAD accidentally switched rooms with him, and just hadn't heard him knocking earlier.

"You don't get it, do you?" Lina sighed, accepting the cone from him and polishing it off in three bites. She flinched as the cold temperature soared to her brain, and then recovered, looking questioningly at Gourry.

"Get what? Did you accidentally switch rooms with me?" Gourry's eyes had expanded to the size of dinner plates. How was it even possible to consume an entire extra large ice cream in three bites. Now he had seen EVERYTHING.

"No! The ice cream was just an excuse to get you out of the inn," Lina explained, struggling to keep the smile on her face. So that was why she had only asked for ONE ice cream. She had wanted to be alone. But one thing still didn't make sense to him.

"Why did you want me out of the inn?" Gourry asked dumbly.

"I wanted to SURPRISE you!" Lina growled, her once smiling face twisting into a look of impatient anger.

"What's the surprise?" Gourry inquired, looking around for it. Lina looked relieved that her explanation was finally over.

'THIS!" Lina exclaimed, thrusting something into Gourry's arms. The swordsman looked down, and saw the last thing he expected. It was a brand new sword. And not a cheap one either.

It was just his style, and was so much more durable then the cheap, temporary sword strapped to his side. Lina had gotten him this? But why?

"It's not my birthday," Gourry informed her, thinking maybe that was why she had gotten him this.

"This isn't a birthday present," explained Lina, the smile back on her face, "This is just a way of showing my gratitude for all you've done. I know you've been needed a good sword since you gave away the sword of light. This one isn't enchanted or anything... but still..."

A smile stretched across Gourry's face as he stared at the sword. He didn't know what the word 'gratitude' meant, but he was sure it was a good thing. He felt himself tear up as emotions flooded his body. This sword must have cost Lina every last coin in her coin pouch!

"THANKS!" Gourry sobbed, hugging Lina tightly. Lina smiled and hugged him back. She knew that Gourry got emotional when it came to these sorts of things. Then she waited for him to release her. But the overgrown baby continued bawling.

"Jellyfish Brains! Let go," Lina snarled, trying to struggle out of his arms. But Gourry didn't. He wanted this moment to last forever.

**End Note: **Well, I hoped you liked it. It was Gourry and Lina's turn to show up this time! Don't worry, though. The chapters won't be split into three groups like this FOREVER! The group will eventually reunite. Yay!

**Response to Reviewers: **

_Maddy02: _Yes, Xelloss does have a motive. And don't worry, Valgaav won't stay cramped in that jar forever! But he also won't hatch, because I'm extremely bad at writing anything with Valgaav in it... sorry!

_DQBunny: _Yay! Thank you for all the great advice and the compliments. You're right about all that 'That's a secret!' stuff. Gulp. I hope that I take this story in a direction that you enjoy. Usually, I'm kind of bad with endings/ climaxes... And as for Zelgadiss's character... Uh-oh. If you think he's gloomy now, wait until a bit LATER! But don't worry, he will get better.

_kuro-tanuki: _Thanks you for all your smiley faces and exclamation points! They make me feel fuzzy inside!

_Yexis Metallium: _As if I'd tell you what happens next! You must wait for updates like everyone else! And as for Firia, she won't hate Xelloss for the WHOLE story. I tried to make the AZ and XF couplings start out kind of rough on purpose because I wanted to give them lots of room to GROW!


	4. Chapter 4: Ameria's Treat

**Author's Note: **This chapter is EXTREMLEY corny! Sorry! I tried to rewrite it time after time but this is the way it always came out. I'm not the best at serious stuff. I know what you're thinking- 'What IS she good at?' Well, the answer is: I have no idea! I just enjoy writing. So shut up and read... and try not to flame me, please!

**Disclaimer:** No...-.-

Chapter 4: Ameria's Treat

"I told you that I didn't want you to treat me to anything," Zelgadiss insisted, reluctantly staggering after Ameria as she pulled him by one arm. Ameria tried to ignore him as she tugged him along the streets of Seyruun City. This was the fifth time Zelgadiss had said this, if you counted their conversation last night at the coffee shop. But luckily, she wasn't the type to give up on an idea just because someone said, "No thanks!". Ameria WAS going to treat Zelgadiss to something to pay him back for last night.

This whole situation had started about one half hour ago, just as the skies had begun to darken. Zelgadiss had been lounging in his guest room, flipping through a spell book and sipping coffee when Ameria had burst inside. The princess had insisted that he leave the castle with her for a walk through Seyruun City so that she could treat him to something. When Zelgadiss had refused, Ameria had nagged him without mercy until he gave in.

Ameria had also urged Zelgadiss to travel at her pace. She wanted him to enjoy himself tonight, not feel gloomy. And going at a snail-slow pace often meant that Zelgadiss was thinking about depressing thoughts. Luckily, Zelgadiss wasn't putting up too much of a fight, and was even gradually adjusting to her pace.

There was only one problem. Ameria had no idea WHAT to treat Zelgadiss to. She wanted it to be something he liked. So that automatically ruled out Seyruun's famous soft serve, which was Ameria's original plan. Zelgadiss had told her earlier that day that he hated ice cream because it froze his throat.

It also deleted every restaurant in town from the options list, since Zelgadiss didn't get any pleasure from food. There was always coffee. But Ameria didn't want to be responsible for filling an already 90 coffee bloodstream with more of the stuff! While lost in thought, Ameria faintly heard Zelgadiss's voice.

"What did you say?" She asked quickly, turning her attention back on her companion.

"Where are we going?" Zelgadiss repeated, jerking his hand out of Ameria's grip to signal that he would go at her pace without a fight. Ameria felt blush creep across her face and was glad that Zelgadiss couldn't see it. Why did he have to ask the very question she hoped he wouldn't ask?

She still had no idea where they were going. What could Ameria say to him that wouldn't give herself away? She didn't want him to know that she was just dragging him around town, searching for a great place to go.

"It's a surprise," Ameria hastily lied, something that she hated doing. She searched her brain for any memories that might have had some clue of what Zelgadiss liked. But she couldn't find anything...

Wait! An idea suddenly flashed through Ameria's head. She knew just the place to take him! And it wasn't too far away from this area either.

"I hate surprises," Zelgadiss muttered, staring at the dark sky.

"But we're almost there!" Ameria insisted, not lying this time, "This way!" She jerked lightly on his hand to steer him in the right direction. The two of them took a left turn and headed down a street crowded with open-air shops.

They traveled in silence- the usual way they traveled since Zelgadiss wasn't exactly one for conversation. Ameria looked around at all the shops, searching for the particular one she was looking for. She had THOUGHT it was around this area, but she hadn't caught sign of anything yet.

The farther down the street they went, the less familiar the surroundings grew. Ameria glanced nervously back at Zelgadiss, feeling guilty that he had put his total trust in her. Yep. They were definitely in an area Ameria didn't know. She figured it would be best if they stopped walking.

"Uh... Zelgadiss-san?" Ameria asked cautiously, stopping.

"Hmm?" Zelgadiss responded, stopping as well. Ameria wasn't sure exactly what to say. She knew that it was possible to make Zelgadiss lose his temper, especially in a frustrating situation like this. So she had to be careful about how she said this.

"I THINK we're lost," Ameria reported, staring nervously at Zelgadiss. She braced herself for his lecture. But none came.

"I see..." Zelgadiss sighed, twisting a lock of wiry hair.

"You're not angry with me?" Ameria asked, startled. This was the type of thing Zelgadiss USUALLY got angry about.

"Of course not. All we have to do is retrace our steps until we're back in an area you're familiar with," Zelgadiss explained, turning around to come back the way they came, "You should have said something sooner." This surprised Ameria even more. Even though he was usually quiet, when something truly irritated him, Zelgadiss was always quick to lose his temper. Was he getting more patient?

"Oh. Okay," Ameria sighed with relief, following him back down the street. As they were walking, Ameria noticed a suspiciously familiar area on the side of the road. Could it be?

"Zelgadiss-san! I think that's the place!" Ameria exclaimed, pointing in excitement at the building.

"Wha? Where?" Zelgadiss spun around to take a look at the store, but Ameria swiftly covered his eyes with her hands. She had to stand on tip toes to even reach his face.

"You can't see the name of the shop! It would spoil the surprise!" Ameria explained, glancing over at the shop to see if it was open. Sure enough, she could see a light inside the building. Yes!

"Okay, Okay..." grumbled Zelgadiss, removing her hands from his eyes, but keeping his eyes closed. Ameria guided him to and inside the store. The name itself didn't spoil what was inside (It was 'Larry's Department Store), but Ameria didn't want to take any chances that would give away his surprise.

"Okay! Open them," Ameria commanded, grinning up at Zelgadiss. The chimera did as he was told. He stared in shock at what was inside the store. It was definitely not what he was expecting.

Ameria looked with joy at the front display of the store. There were all sorts of mismatched supplies, but she knew what had caught Zelgadiss's eye. Guitars. A whole display of assorted guitars covered the front of the store.

"Ameria...?" Zelgadiss questioned, still marveling the instruments.

"I've seen you playing them sometimes in stores while you're waiting for Lina to buy our supplies of food. And Firia-san once told me about how you wanted to keep one when you were on a Ghost Ship, but it washed away before you had been able to put it somewhere safe!" Ameria informed him of all this is one breath. There was blush on her face and she was speaking so fast it was hard to understand her.

"So, you're treating me to a GUITAR?" He mumbled, a thin smile forming on his lips. For the first time, Ameria realized how silly she really had been. A guitar was certainly a weird thing to 'treat' someone to.

"I-I'm sorry..." Ameria stammered, realizing how childish she had been. She should have just been unoriginal and treated him to a mug of coffee.

"Thanks," Zelgadiss mumbled, his face turned away from her. Ameria at first though she had heard him wrong.

"What?" She asked, wishing to clarify his words. Zelgadiss turned so that she could see his face. Ameria noticed that he was embarrassed.

"Thanks," he repeated, making sure not to mumble this time. For the second time since Zelgadiss's visit to Seyruun, a strange silence filled the room. Not the usual, awkward one. But a silence that felt... comfortable. Ameria, of course, was the one to break it.

"Which color do you want?" She asked, pointing to the display of guitars.

"Wha? Oh! The black one," Zelgadiss selected the one he wanted. At first he had refused to let Ameria pay for the guitar. But he finally gave in since he ws low on money to begin with.

The walk back to the castle was much better then the one to the store. Zelgadiss tuned his new guitar as Ameria told him stories of how she used to always walk to Larry's Department Store when she was just a kid to buy the newest Hero picture books. The atmosphere was relaxed. For the first time since Zelgadiss had visited Seyruun, Ameria felt that the chimera was truly enjoying himself.

It was too bad that good things never seemed to last. And this special night was no exception...

OOOOO

Zelgadiss had not even bothered to change into his pajamas tonight. He lay on his bed in the guest room, staring at the ceiling. The guitar lay propped up against the wall, the moonlight shining through his open window reflecting off of its black, smooth surface.

Zelgadiss knew that he would not sleep tonight. A subject that he had been trying to delete from his brain was distracting him. The subject was Ameria. Zelgadiss had been truly touched when she had bought him the guitar. He had figured that she would probably take him to a coffee shop or something.

But she hadn't. She had bought him a simple guitar. But it had so much depth to it. Ameria had to have been observing him closely to have gotten the information that she had told him. And she had been right. Zelgadiss had always had a passion for guitars. If his fingers had not have been turned cold, clumsy and slow, Zelgadiss might have even begun to write his own songs.

But Ameria had NOTICED that he like guitars without him even telling her. The fact that someone even thought about him a little bit made Zelgadiss feel better. Made him forget that he had a hideous body that he still hoped to get rid of.

That was the cause of the problems racing through his head. His body. His body wasn't good enough for Ameria. People had always stared at him when he was in public, but now they were staring at her too. Wondering why she was walking next to a monster.

Zelgadiss had known that he would have to leave Seyruun sooner or later, but he hadn't been expecting to leave so soon. But now, the answer as clear in his mind. He HAD to go. Tonight. Before Ameria could find out he was gone.

Quietly, Zelgadiss slipped out of bed. He strapped his sword and coin pouch to his belt. Zelgadiss hesitantly paused when he saw the guitar. Should he take it with him?

Zelgadiss finally decided that he would, and tied it to his back with some spare rope stored in his coin pouch. Now he was all set to leave. But he would be back. It might take him years, but this was the only way.

"Goodbye, Ameria," Zelgadiss whispered, turning the doorknob and stepping outside of his room. It was time to leave. But not forever.

**End Note:** TOLD you it was corny! So Zelgadiss has begun to act like a selfish little self-pity machine again, eh? But don't worry... he won't stay in this mode for too long. I'll force myself to write so that I can update soon...

**Response to the Way-too-Nice Reviewers:**

_Maddy02: _Thank you so much! You don't know how much your comments means to me... I was actually kind of unsure about Gourry's character in chapter 3- and it makes me happy to know that my reviewers actually liked his character! Yay!

_Yexis Metallium: _Yeah... it DID kinda end fast, didn't it... But as I said earlier: I'm bad at endings. Really bad. Since the beginning of the story, I've been wondering how to END it... But YAY! Yexis liked Gourry's character too! So happy!

_kuro-tanuki: _The cutest thing 'ever'! HWAAA! You're so... compliment-y... But seriously, you say the nicest things whenever you give me reviews! By the way, YOU should try writing a Slayers fan fiction! Please? I think it would be cool!

_Mistress DragonFlame: _Hurrah! MORE compliments! You guys are spoiling me... and thanks for all the great advice. I LOVE advice! As for the 'r's in Firia and Ameria's names... you could say that it's a bad habit that I don't feel like curing myself of. Sorry if it annoys you...


	5. Chapter 5: Where to go Next?

**A Note Before We Begin: **Okies. Just to let you know, Xelloss and Firia are definitely not my favorite characters from Slayers (I still love them both very, very much, though). So I probably... no... I WILL get some facts wrong about them sooner or later (probably sooner). If I do, NICELY correct me. The key word is: nicely. No flames, if yer please'ums. Thank you. Now... please enjoy:

Chapter 5: Where to go next

**Disclaimer:** Well, I've taught you all I know. Now it's time for you to decide this life and death decision on your own... do I own Slayers? ... Oh FINE! I'll answer it for you: **NO**! Honestly, can't you figure out anything yourself? Wow. I'm really stupid. And this is officially my longest disclaimer!

Xelloss could hear a voice. It was a female's and was chanting something... A recovery spell? Xelloss struggled to open his eyes, but his lids felt abnormally heavy for some reason. He was aware of a throbbing pain pulsing through his entire head. What had happened?

"Ugh..." Xelloss groaned, finally managing to open his eyes. The sight that met them was not at all what he expected. Firia was standing above him, casting a recovery spell. FIRIA! The very same golden dragon Firia who called him 'Namagomi' and attacked him with an oversized mace.

Firia, seeing that he was awake, sighed and stopping casting the spell. Xelloss winced as the pain shot through his head again. His last memory was in a restaurant- he had been drinking some tea. What had happened since then? Why was a powerful Mazoku like him in pain? And why was he with Firia at her house!

"What happened?" Xelloss asked, rubbing his head with a gloved hand. Ouch. If Firia hadn't have used recovery, Xelloss knew that he would have a golf-ball sized lump on his head. Hearing his question, a nervous look washed over Firia's face.

"Ah... Uhm...You seeee..." Firia stammered, avoiding his gaze. Xelloss raised a suspicious eyebrow.

Oh! NOW he remembered. He had gone to Firia's house to ask her to go with him on a little visit to Seyruun. She had snapped again and he had let her hit him once because he had "broken" one of her jars. Xelloss had actually felt bad (A TEENY, TEENY bit bad- but still bad) for breaking that jar- and that was why he had let Firia hit him. But now? Xelloss wasn't sorry a bit. He had told her to 'hit' him! Not smash him into the floor. Sheesh. How strong was that dragon? She would've KILLED him if he wasn't a Mazoku! He could hear faintly in the back of his head that Firia was still stammering.

Xelloss made a mental note to pay Firia back with a bombardment of insults when he was feeling a bit better. She had really creamed him. Xelloss couldn't believe it! At least she had cast recovery on him.

"You... tripped and fell," Firia had finally decided what excuse she was going to use.

"I see," Xelloss replied, opening one of his purple eyes. He was enjoying the expression on Firia's face.

"So... uhm... Are we going to Seyruun soon? I'm all packed now," Firia hastily changed the subject. A wise move.

"Hmmmm... How long have I been out?" Xelloss inquired, sitting up. He noticed that Firia had laid him on a blanket and that he was in the middle of her floor.

"Three hours," Firia mumbled, still avoiding his eyes, which were now both open. Three hours? How hard HAD she hit him? It took a lot to knock a Mazoku out for three whole hours! Xelloss decided to not underestimate the dragon race.

"Yes... We should leave soon. I'm still pretty surprised that you're coming along. I was sure that you'd refuse," Xelloss replied to Firia, scanning the room for his staff. Now where had he left it? Xelloss noticed that it was still leaning on the wall where he had put it hours before.

"Well... I've always wanted to spend some time in Seyruun," Firia explained. Xelloss knew that she was lying. The golden dragon was suspicious of what he was plotting. Xelloss didn't blame her. Firia was truly going along on this trip for a chance to see what he was up to. Ha! As if he would let her see!

"Remember, we might not be going to Seyruun. Where we go depends on the situation," Xelloss reminded her, rising into a standing position. He walked over to his staff and removed it from its position on the wall.

"What situation?" Firia questioned, a suspicious look on her face.

"Uhm... The amount of money that we have left over by the time we reach the area," Xelloss quickly explained, " Seyruun's prices are SO expensive!" He knew that he sounded suspicious. He was TRYING to sound that way. It was fun to watch Firia's face twist with doubt.

"Aren't we TRANSPORTING there? I can teleport too, you know," Firia reminded him. That was true. Though it took Firia a lot more magic and she couldn't quite as quickly as Xelloss.

"We'll transport across the ocean- but once across we'll travel on foot. It's more fun that way!" Xelloss informed her.

"Aren't you going to take your luggage along, though?" Firia asked, slinging her small bag of supplies over her shoulder. Xelloss silently pointed to the pouch he always carried over his shoulder. He hadn't brought much. It held Valgaav's egg, a small sum of money, and a couple miscellaneous items of no value.

"Any more questions?" Xelloss asked Firia.

"No," Firia replied, shaking her head. She began walking across the room but Xelloss lifted up his hand, signaling her to stop.

"I've got one for you: You SURE you want to come on this little trip?" Xelloss asked, grinning. He had asked this mostly to throw Firia off. He loved to mess with people's minds. Zelgadiss's was the best, though. The chimera always reacted the exact way that Xelloss thought he would. Firia hesitated for a few seconds.

"Yes," Firia finally replied, shifting the bag over her shoulder.

"Let's go, then," Xelloss commanded, starting out the door. He wanted to travel a little bit away from Firia's house before transporting. It was more fun this way. He knew that he was going to enjoy this trip.

OOOOO

"Lina!" Gourry cried in utter shock, glaring at his companion from across the table, "That was going too far!"

"You were asking for it, Jellyfish!" Lina snorted, an evil smile twisted across her face. Gourry stared in dismay at his empty plate.

"But... I was saving that drumstick for last," Gourry whined.

"That'll teach you to steal my dinner," Lina scolded, patting her stuffed stomach. Today was turning out to be a great day. After that bone-shattering hug from Gourry, the two of them had gone together into town. Almost instantly, they had gotten a hold of some information about the location of a bandit's hideout.

The group of bandits called 'The Flaming Dragons' had been no challenge to take out. But they had packed QUITE a bit of treasure. How lucky! With their new money, the two of them had gone out to a nearby restaurant. Gourry, still touched about the sword present, had gone easy on Lina during their food wars. But he had STILL stolen her prized dinner roll. Therefore, Lina had taken his extra special drumstick for vengeance.

Now, the two of them were both full and satisfied (besides Gourry still complaining a bit about the loss of his special drumstick). To top the day off, they were going to be staying at a nearby inn- one that Lina had stayed at before and had LOVED. Today looked as if it was going to be almost PERFECT. There was only one question left on Lina's mind. But Gourry beat her to it, and asked exactly what she was going to ask.

"Where are we going to go next?" Gourry questioned innocently, stacking his plate on top of a pillar of dishes that had to be twenty zillion miles high.

"I don't know," Lina answered truthfully, watching as the plate tower wobbled to one side. It was going to fall over if the waiter didn't come over soon. It would make QUITE a loud noise, too.

"Should we just keep wandering around?" Gourry suggested, glancing nervously at the plate pillar. Lina thought about this option. But wandering around had gotten really old. AND really money consuming.

"No, definitely not," Lina decided, biting her lip as she thought of where they could go.

"Should we just see what the next town has in it?" Gourry tried another suggestion. Lina shook her head, finally deciding where she wanted to go.

"Naw, I think we should go back the way we came," Lina muttered, leaning back lazily on her chair. As her weight left the table, the plates creaked threateningly to the opposite side.

"To Seyruun?" Gourry asked hopefully.

"No. To a town nearby it. I really wanted to try out this one restaurant, but I forgot to stop by there! That is, if you don't have a better idea." Lina explained. She glanced at Gourry threateningly, daring him to say that he did. She KNEW that Gourry wanted to go to Seyruun; he had been hinting her every chance he got. But Lina didn't want to! Lina though that Zelgadiss was still in Seyruun. And it was best to give Ameria and Zel... heh heh...private time.

"Well, I don't really have a better idea..." Gourry admitted scratching the back of his head. As usual. Lina was the only one who ever got good ideas! She noticed that the waiter was coming over to their table, carrying their bill with him. Lina decided that Gourry should pay for it since he had probably eaten more then her, AND she was the one who did all the mind work.

"Oi. Gourry. Pay for it," commanded Lina, indicating the bill.

"Pay for your own meal! You had thirty plates of food and I only got twenty-nine!" Gourry complained, propping himself up on the table with his arm. Now this caught her off guard.

"Thirty! As if I would be such a pig!" Lina snarled, crossing her arms in disgust. As if she would ever eat THRITY plates of food. Gourry on the other hand... he could be quite selfish!

"I saw you," Gourry observed, looking proud of himself, "You tried to hide one of the plates from me, but I know I counted correctly."

"No way! YOU ate thirty, Gourry!" Lina accused, jabbing her finger at Gourry.

"You can try to deny it if you want," Gourry sighed, shaking his head, "but YOU were the one who ate the most!"

The waiter had noticed the arguing companions and had wisely decided to wait until they were finished before giving them the bill. "Yeah, well, you're the one with the brains of a jellyfish!" Lina retorted, thinking grudgingly that she had maybe eaten thirty plates after all.

"What do my brains have to do with anything!" Gourry demanded, looking hurt by Lina's insult. She had only told him the truth...

"I don't know!" Lina yelled back, starting to loose her patience. Maybe a Dragon Slave would be the best ending to this fight?

"Fine then. You have the chest of a-"Gourry began, a sly look on his face. So that's the way he wants to play, huh? Lina decided that a Dragon Slave would be the best way to end this fight.

"Darkness beyond twilight..." Lina began, staring at Gourry threateningly. Gourry, realizing what she was doing, stopped his insult in mid sentence.

"Lina! I'm sorry! Don't blow up the restaurant, Lina! Please," Gourry begged, kneeling before her with his hands clasped. Lina stared up at the ceiling, as if she was thinking this request over. She thought that since she was still in a pretty fine mood because of the almost-perfect evening AND that it was fun to have someone kneel before her, she would drop the Dragon Slave spell.

"Fine. But you pay," Lina grumbled, signaling the waiter over. Gourry didn't say anything, but looked extremely relieved on the ground. Seeing that they were done arguing, the waiter returned to their table. Seeing the bill, Gourry stood up and walked back to his chair.

"Okay. I'll pay for it. You had me really scared for a second there, Lina. I thought you might really use the Dragon Slave," Gourry sighed, plopping back down in his seat with his elbows on the table. The plate pillar creaked and swayed violently from side to side.

"Gourry!" Lina managed to cry before ducking under the table. The waiter and Gourry joined her. The fifty-nine plates looked for a second as if they were going to steady themselves, but then tipped off the table and shattered all over the ground. Plate bits flew everywhere and a deafening noise filled the room. Lina had luckily cast a barrier spell so that the plate pieces didn't stab them.

Finally, the horrible shattering noise ceased. Gourry bit his lip and looked at Lina sadly, looking as if he was going to cry. Lina knew that Gourry knew exactly what she was going to say next.

"You're going to pay for this too," Lina commanded, pointing at the plate mess covering the floor. Gourry sighed. Maybe he should go bandit hunting more often. He seemed to be running out of money quite quickly.

**End Note:** I have gotten lazy! Sorry that I took so long to update! I'll be faster next time- I promise!

**Now... Notes to the way-too-nice reviewers who spoil me: **

_Mistress DragonFlame: _Heh heh... Yep. That's why I called the chapter corny. I never felt comfortable with the part where Ameria got lost. But it needed to be there for the sake of JUSTICE (and fluff!). Thanks for understanding my horrible habit, also.

_Maddy02: _Ack! I hope I don't kill you with fluff! There 'twill (ack! The horrible 'T' words! Another bad habit...) much more of it to come... The sense will be knocked into Zel in the later chapters, by both Ameria AND Lina.

_Yexis Metallium: _Yay! I'm glad that my ending was better! Thank you for all the nice compliments- and get some sleep, already! And why don't you stop keeping secrets and tell me what that "SOMETHING" is? OI'm so curious oi moight doi!

_kuro-tanuki: _It wasn't corny? Really, now? Well, chapter six is one thousand times more corny, so watch out! flinches as the computer chair breaks AAAAACK! Thanks for all the compliments... How would I live without you, tanuki-san?

_Ichiban Victory: _Wow. Everyone seems to like how Ameria gave Zelgadiss the guitar. I actually thought that was a bad idea. Maybe I should post more of my bad ideas? Yay! Thank you for being so very nice! Such nice reviewers... sigh...

DUN DUN DUUUUN! If Zelgadiss thought that he could sneak away late at night, then he was wrong. Next chapter contains the corny confrontation between Ameria and Zelgadiss! DUN DUN! DUN DUN! DUUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnn... fades to black

Wow. These End Notes and Review things are gettin' long...


	6. Chapter 6: The Princess's Bracelet

**Beginning Note: **DUN DITY DUN DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUN! The confrontation! I'm such a bad, bad girl for keeping you waiting so long. Slap me if I deserve it. Aw, Crud! It's ANOTHER corny chapter! Try to bear with it... sorry... Another excuse to slap me (you'd better take advantage of it 'cause you may only slap the horrible writer who lacks self esteem greatly when she gives you permission). But I bet you're sick of listening to me jabber ( I love that word). Please enjoy chapter 6!

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Slayers, wouldn't I have a higher vocabulary?

Chapter six: The Princess's Bracelet

Creeeeeak. Ameria's eyes snapped open. She had been trying to sleep for the last hour but had been unsuccessful. That was why she could hear such a quiet, insignificant noise. It was a familiar noise. It meant that someone was walking by her door. There was a loose board that always creaked, so she was quite used to the sound. But curiosity got the better of her- and besides, she was sick of trying to sleep.

Ameria clambered out of bed and silently opened her door a crack. The person turned out to be Zelgadiss, fully dressed and sneaking down the hallway. When Ameria saw this, a sick, anxious feeling churned in her stomach. She wondered why he would be walking down the hallway so late at night. He could just want to take a stroll outside or maybe to buy a cup of coffee. But something deep in Ameria's brain told her that this wasn't the case. He was leaving. Leaving before anyone could notice he was gone.

A horrible feeling of panic shot through Ameria, and she removed her gaze from outside of the door. She hastily decided that she should follow Zelgadiss and slipped into a loose white T-shirt and pants folded by her bedside. She hesitated for a second, then stuffed her pink bracelets in her pocket as a good luck charm. Ameria closed her eyes, sucking in a long breath and forcing herself to calm down. Then, she snuck outside of her room and followed Zelgadiss, being careful not to tread on the loose board.

Zelgadiss was walking at a pace slightly faster then usual, staring straight ahead. Ameria couldn't see the expression on his face, and decided that it was best to follow him rather then confront him. She had learned that Zelgadiss was pretty good at sensing presences, and stayed a fair distance behind him. The chimera traveled down the hallway, a flight of stairs, and finally through the door that led outside.

The night air was cool and Ameria shivered when the chilly air blew through her hair and clothes. Zelgadiss had stopped walking and stood silently, his back turned to Ameria.

"Okay, Ameria. Why are you following me?" Zelgadiss asked, his back still turned. Ameria's heart skipped a beat. He had known that she was trailing him all along! She didn't know how to respond to his question. So she just decided to tell the truth.

"I was just wondering where you were going," Ameria explained, feeling a little childish. Zelgadiss didn't turn to face her, but there was a pained tone to his voice when he next spoke.

"I'm leaving," Zelgadiss told her, finally whirling around to look her in the eyes. His intense eyes looked upset. Ameria couldn't say that she was surprised by his words. She had known that Zelgadiss would leave, she just hadn't been sure when. But Ameria still felt that she had to try and persuade him to stay.

"Why, Zelgadiss-san? There are still other libraries we can check. I'm sure that one of them has to have something. Like, uhm... There's this one library close by. We haven't searched it yet, but I'm sure it will have something worth reading. And- and we have had so much fun lately. There are so many things we can do! Why are you leaving when things are going so well?" Ameria stumbled over her words. She wasn't even thinking through the words she said, she was just blurting out all the excuses that popped into her mind.

Ameria desperately wanted Zelgadiss to stay. Lina and Gourry probably wouldn't stop by for a visit for another couple months, so that left her completely alone aside from family. And Zelgadiss. He never stopped by to visit. She couldn't even guess how long it would be until she saw him next time.

"I'm leaving," Zelgadiss repeated, this time with a hint of anger in his tone. He turned to face Ameria, and she noticed that the expression on his face was pained. Ameria wondered why he was leaving her if it hurt him so much to do so.

"There are so many great things we can do, though! Like, I know this great hotpot place- it might even be as good as Nyara-Nyara! Remember when we ate hotpot back in Atlas City? You said that you loved it! So, what do you say, Zelga-" Ameria had begun to take a desperate tone, when Zelgadiss stopped her with an abrupt wave of his hand.

"Ameria... Get away from me," Zelgadiss begged, "Please." Ameria couldn't read his hard expression. She could tell he was in pain, and stopped pleading with him. She now knew that she couldn't stop him from leaving. His top priority was his cure, and Ameria had made the mistake of thinking that she was more important to him.

Ameria dug her hand into her pocket, searching for her pink bracelets stored in them. Her hand closed around the familiar shape. Ameria removed it from her pocket, and stared at the object in her hand.

"Zelgadiss-san," Ameria began. She noticed that her voice was quivering, and wondered if she was crying. Sure enough, Ameria felt a line of salty tears streaming down each cheek. Well, what could she expect? Zelgadiss had left her each time they had ended an adventure.

After the defeat of Kopii Rezo, Ameria had offered Zelgadiss a place to stay at Seyruun. But he had refused it and left in a separate direction. After the battle with Phibrizo, Zelgadiss had left without even saying his goodbyes to anyone, obviously continuing the search for his cure. But for some reason, this time when he was leaving it felt different.

Maybe because for the first time Ameria felt truly close to him. Or maybe because the unreasonable part of her heart hoped that Zelgadiss would have stayed in Seyruun forever? But whatever the case, Ameria felt truly torn apart by Zelgadiss's words.

She tried to look at the situation from his perspective. Zelgadiss had always despised his chimera body, and was always searching for a cure that would turn him into his original form once again. It was only natural that he continue this search. But still...

Ameria wanted to give him something to remember her by. She probably wouldn't see him for at least a year, after all.

"I won't try to stop you then," Ameria said, wiping the tears from her face with the back of her hand. Zelgadiss looked at her, startled.

"You... won't?" He asked, unable to hide the disbelief in his voice. Ameria walked over to him, biting her lip to stop more tears from falling. Staring into his eyes, Ameria pressed one of her bracelets into his hand. Even though he was part golem, Ameria was always marveled how warm his hand was.

"Please be safe, Zelgadiss-san..." Ameria whispered to him, refusing to say goodbye. Zelgadiss stared at the bracelet in his hand. He seemed to be struggling to control his emotions, but it was still impossible to know what he was feeling. Zelgadiss weakly opened his mouth, looking as if he wanted to say something. Ameria backed a few steps away from him, encouraging him to leave.

"Ameria..." Zelgadiss began, still staring at the object in his hand. Ameria waited silently, a mournful expression on her face.

"Thanks," Zelgadiss finally muttered, whirling around so his back was turned to her once again. Ameria could tell that it hadn't been what he had originally wanted to say. Still crying, Ameria could only watch as Zelgadiss began to storm away at a fast pace. She felt a sick, churning feeling in her stomach and could hardly believe what she was seeing. Zelgadiss was leaving...

"Goodbye!" She called after him, taking a desperate step forward. Ameria waited breathlessly for a response but there was none. An overwhelming rush of tears consumed her and she slumped to her knees as Zelgadiss's back disappeared into the night. Why was he being so cold to her? Why was he leaving her when there was still so much they could experience together? And why... why had she poured so much faith into him, believing that he would have actually stayed behind in Seyruun with her? Why...

Through all the tears and pain, only one thing was clear to Ameria. A place in her heart now felt dull and empty. It couldn't be filled with a simple justice song or reading a hero story. Her life was not complete with Zelgadiss... And she couldn't help but wonder if his life was complete without her.

OOOOO

He had done it. It had been painful but he had done it. Left Ameria. The most important person to him in the world. Zelgadiss hadn't stopped looking at Ameria's bracelet since he had left the castle are.

Zelgadiss had thought that being cold to Ameria would be the best way to get rid of her, but he was now having second thoughts. He had been too harsh on her; it had been too fast and unexpected for an innocent girl like Ameria. She had taken it worse then he had thought.

Zelgadiss had been shocked when Ameria had handed him the bracelet. He was also startled that she hadn't shouted or gotten angry with him for being so terribly mean. But what surprised him most of all, was the tears she had cried. No one had ever cried over Zelgadiss like that. No one cared about him enough to cry. But Ameria's had truly been crying for him tonight.

Why? There was nothing special about him. There was nothing special about him! He had never been particularly nice to Ameria. Sure, he had treated her to the hot chocolate, and he had also played along with her little justice games once in awhile. He had protected her, occasionally complimented her, and tried his best to comfort her. But he had never done anything especially friendly to her.

Besides, he was a blue, depressed hunk of rock! Why would anyone even be kind to him, even CRY over him! Zelgadiss had never realized that Ameria had such feelings for him until now. Zelgadiss sighed, half wishing he could go back and apologize for his behavior. But what could he say? 'I'm sorry'? That wouldn't work after all the pain that he'd made her go through.

So there was only one thing left to do- continue the search for his cure. Zelgadiss knew he was being selfish and cruel, but he didn't know what else he could do.

**End Note: **Can you say 'depressingly corny' (and 'way to short of a chapter')? DUN DUN DUUUUN!

Wow. This chapter has officially made me mad at Zelgadiss once again (I get mad at him maybe once or twice a month). Uh... uhm... Not that anyone really cares, but I have a random fact: I have planned out my fanfic and it is destined to have 31 chapters plus an epilogue. Oh yes! AND Rezo is scheduled to have a part! Yay! Now, without further ado:

**To the nice reviewers from heaven:**

_vampire cuttlefish: _YOU CHANGED YOUR USERNAME! Wow. I like that word... scruffle. ANYWAYS! Thank you for all your too nice comments. I am afraid that Firia and Xelloss are going to have the least fluff and Zel and Ameria 'twill have the most. Bweh! Sorry I CAN'T write Xelloss for beans! My hands are already bleeding just from writing a few chapters about Xelloss. DARNIT! DARNITALL! Sorry... I'll calm down. I wish your username was 'wampire cuttlefish'. KTV! And Thanks for all the nice compliments.

_Maddy02: _Wow. They're in character? That's funny. I'm horrible at writing them both. Who AM I good at writing? **_:pauses for a second to think:_** Anyways, I'm not sure about the white magic thing either, but what the heck.

Heh Heh... I think it's a VERY good thing that Lina doesn't have the crest. I was feeling WAY to sorry for Ameria while Lina was charging her for everything so there was no way I could let her keep it during the fanfic. And sorry for not giving you your much-wanted sense-knocking in this chapter. That comes later ! By both Lina AND Ameria! Just be patient and wait for this lazy bum to update a coupld times.

_Gerao-A: _Hm. I must read this fic called 'Sylvia'. Sounds interesting. And I hope that this update was fast enough for you! Glad that you like this story.

_Mistress DragonFlame: _Awwwww, I'm so sorry! I can so relate to that. I almost ALWAYS have these annoying headaches. Yay! Glad that you liked chapter five as well. I try not to make the chapters so short... but... but... they always turn out that way. I will have to FORCE myself to make them longer... though it is hard to force a lazy head like me to do ANYTHING. Aw, well. This chapter was even SHORTER then the last. AGH! The horror! Thank you for being such a nice reviewer.

_Yexis Metallium: _Uh... I guess it's a good thing... **_:gives a blank look back: _**NOOOOOO! NOT A NICE COMPLIMENT! They make me flinch and die of happiness. Dun dun dun! So you yiked it, huh? Glad to hear it . Uh... not exactly sure how to reply to all your confusing revived cats... uh... uh... I agree with your little theory about Lina's feelings. That's kinda what I was trying to get at. Glad ya noticed. And yep. Gourry paid A BUNCH more. Those plates looked expensive. I'll try to update 'Hattarino's so Cute!' for your sake, so yay!

_Earth Star: _Wow. Look at all the reviewers. I'm so happy. I'm glad to hear that you look forward to reading the next chapter. It makes me so happy to hear **_:emotional tears of sparkly-ness flowing down cheeks: _**

So anyways, see ya guys next time. I TRY to keep updates under five days, but who knows. It might be another WEEK before I update. If that's the case, then you may slap me (I'm going to have puffy cheeks by the end of this fic).


	7. Chapter 7: What Could He Be Planning?

Chapter 7: What could he be planning? (Oh gosh! These names keep getting worse!)

**Disclaimer: **Is anyone actually reading these things anymore! Aw, well. 'I DO NOT OWN SLAYERS'... Now read the story, darn it!

"It's not warm enough!" Firia snapped, snatching the smooth jar containing Valgaav's egg away from Xelloss.

"If storing the egg in a jar was a problem, then why didn't you mention it before!" Xelloss asked, staring in exasperation at the fuming golden dragon.

"Well, I thought that you would have found someway to heat it! And because I'm afraid that your horrible Mazoku germs will rub off on Valgaav!" Firia jerked the cork out of the cramped jar and gingerly removed its contents.

"'Mazoku germs!'" Xelloss asked, his voice quivering with rage as he watched Firia massage the egg tenderly.

"Yes! Mazoku germs!" Firia repeated firmly, rummaging through her bag of supplies. She swiftly found what she was looking for. The basket that Valgaav's egg used to rest in while she had been at her jar shop. Firia then began a search for something that could serve as a covering for the basket.

"Mazokus don't have germs," Xelloss responded sulkily, watching Firia throw the contents of her bag all over the ground as she continued her search.

"Yes, they do!" Firia shot back, refusing to let Xelloss have the last word. Her hand finally closed around her thick, striped wash cloth, and Firia decided that it would have to work as a temporary basket-covering until they reached a town.

As Xelloss watched Firia stitch the corners of the cloth to the rim of Valgaav's woven basket, he realized that this was only their fifth argument since they had left Firia's jar shop. Amazing! Normally, the two of them probably would have fought at least twenty times by now.

Maybe it was because Firia was extra tired. Xelloss could tell that because of the business at her shop and some other things causing her stress she hardly had enough energy to get in a lengthy insult battle with him. Not that he minded. As much as Xelloss enjoyed arguing with her, he actually found this quiet, less snappy side of Firia interesting. But that didn't mean that he would let her win their current argument.

It was, as usual, Firia who had started the fight. After complaining that she was tired of traveling for over an hour, Firia had insisted that they stop for a break. Xelloss didn't mind this; he wanted to stretch at their travels as long as possible. Once they had sat down on the dried, brown roadside, Firia had immediately began lecturing Xelloss on how unreasonable Valgaav's temporary home was.

That ungrateful dragon! What was wrong with a jar? Valgaav was just an egg, after all, so he probably couldn't even feel his surroundings. But Firia had obviously thought he could, because she had insisted that the jar was too cramped and cold. The argument had expanded from there. Xelloss realized that it was his turn to respond to Firia and hurriedly thought up something to say.

"Wow. You sure packed some weird stuff! Like that sewing kit," Xelloss commented, giving up on the argument about 'Mazoku germs' and instead deciding to criticize Firia's packing skills.

"Namagomi! I bet you brought some weirder stuff along on the trip! Besides, my sewing kit has come in handy, see!" Firia thrust Valgaav's basket inches from Xelloss's face (luckily she hadn't placed the egg inside of it yet).

"Why don't you just settle for the jar! The basket will just waste space!" Xelloss protested.

"Because you're a Mazoku!" Firia snapped.

"What does that have to do with anything!" Xelloss asked, trying to figure out the logic in Firia's comment.

"Because... because..." Firia stammered, not expecting Xelloss to ask her this. Xelloss smirked in triumph, his purple eyes opening slightly. He was going to win this argument.

"Because a Mazoku could never understand why a developing egg can't stay in a dark, smelly, old jar!" Firia exclaimed, smiling as she finally thought up an answer to Xelloss's question. Xelloss couldn't help wondering why Firia was calling a jar that he had bought at HER shop dark, smelly, and old.

"You stubborn dra-" Xelloss started, but Firia wasn't finished ranting yet.

"Just like you could never understand why a delicate, young dragon like me needs to rest for the night!" Firia continued, her golden tail shooting from the bottom of her dress. Xelloss was just about to hit her back with powerful insult, when he suddenly realized the situation they were in.

Why should he continue this fight when it provided such a perfect opportunity? Xelloss had been wishing that night would fall so he would have a chance to sneak behind Firia's back and gather information. And now was the chance!

"Alright, you win! We can rest here and now," Xelloss sighed, faking a look of regret.

"Really!" Firia chirped, immediately searching through her bag for her tea set. Then, realizing how unnaturally polite Xelloss was acting, Firia glared suspiciously at him.

"What are you up to, Xelloss?" Firia questioned, staring into Xelloss's half-closed eyes threateningly.

"Whatever do you mean, Firia-san?" Xelloss asked innocently, "I just thought that this would be a great opportunity to settle down for the night. I'm going to transport to the closest town and grab some food for both of us." Firia still looked suspicious, but Xelloss could tell that he had won.

"Go ahead, then..." Firia encouraged him, the suspicious expression not leaving her face. Xelloss nodded once and then transported from the area.

He reappeared on top of one of the rooftops in a busy town. Lucky him! Xelloss hadn't expected that he would be able to gather information until a couple hours later. First of all, he had to find out where Lina and Gourry were staying. That way he could lead Firia to the right town without making himself look too suspicious. He needed to meet up with Lina but if he had flat out told Firia this, then she would have probably refused to travel with him, or would have attacked him.

Xelloss grinned as he scanned the area. Firia couldn't know what he was planning yet. That was a secret!

OOOOO

"That really stunk!" Lina screeched furiously, gritting her teeth as her eyes blazed dangerously.

"Really? I didn't think it was that bad, actually," Gourry responded, moving himself cautiously away from Lina. Of course, the fact that they were walking down a dark, grimy road that was caked in mud, searching desperately for an inn, wasn't helping Lina's dangerous mood.

"Not 'that' bad! Gourry, I don't travel such a long way for a 'not that bad' place!" Lina snarled, clenching one of her fists. She couldn't believe it! All of the advertisements for this restaurant had sounded delicious. Lina had looked forward to this place. THIS was why she and Gourry had traveled for three days back the exact way they had came!

But everything in the stupid restaurant had been horrible. The service, the food- you name it! Even the 'triple portion' amounts were teeny, and all of the food tasted the same- salty. How could Gourry even think that this place was 'not-so-bad'! It was horrible! And expensive to top it off. (Gourry had paid for it, but still!)

"I'm still a bit hungry, though," Gourry admitted, scratching the back of his head.

"Hmmmmph," Lina snorted, scratching the back of her head absentmindedly while lost in thought. She was thinking about where to head to next. Since the battle with Darkstar, she and Gourry had been wandering aimlessly around. But Lina wanted a set place to go. For a GOOD reason.

"Lina? Are you hungry too?" Gourry asked, giving Lina a pitiful look like a starving puppy.

"Hey, Gourry?" Lina began.

"What is it?" Gourry asked, slowing the pace they were walking at so Lina wouldn't trip or something.

"I think we should stay in this general area for awhile. Until we decide on a place to go..." Lina suggested, adjusting to Gourry's pace. The truth was, Lina wanted to go to Seyruun. But she wanted Ameria and Zelgadiss to have 'alone' time. She knew that they loved each other. So she was hoping to stay in this area for a couple days to give them time, and then drop by the castle again to pay Ameria a visit.

"Uh... sounds okay. You're the one who always decides what we do next anyways," Gourry answered, staring stupidly at Lina.

"Oh yeah... I'm still hungry," He added mournfully, remembering his hunger.

"Should we try a different restaurant, then?" Lina suggested, realizing her own hunger as the deep-in-thought numbness left her body.

"Yeah! How about a... seafood place?" Gourry suggested cheerfully, glad that Lina had finally chosen not to ignore his requests for food.

"No way! I'm sick of seafood. How about a beef pla-" Lina began, but stopped abruptly as she heard a soft, shuffling noise behind her. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a familiar figure. Lina swiftly whirled around, hoping to get a better look.

"Lina?" Gourry questioned, staring in confusion at Lina's strange behavior. He obviously hadn't heard the noise.

"Nothing, nothing..." Lina assured him, waving a gloved hand carelessly, "My eyes are probably just tired."

"So, uh... what were you saying about a beef place?" Gourry asked, returning to the original subject as Lina turned back around and began to walk again.

"Uh... actually I was just saying that seafood sounded great to me too..." Lina lied, still feeling uneasy.

"Okay! Let's find a place, then," Gourry suggested, scanning the area for any restaurant. Lina simply nodded, her mind no longer on which place to eat dinner. If she had truly seen what she had thought she had seen, then trouble would be finding them quickly. After all, every time Xelloss made an appearance, something bad happened.

Lina sighed with relief. At least Ameria had Zelgadiss with her. If Ameria had been alone, Lina would have panicked and insisted that she and Gourry travel back to Seyruun right away. But she still couldn't help be a little worried for her friend. Not that there was much of a chance that Xelloss would go after Ameria.

Besides, Lina's lie might have actually been the truth. Maybe her eyes just WERE tired. She hadn't seen Xelloss clearly enough to be positive that she had seen him. But a strong feeling churning deep within Lina told her that she wasn't just seeing things. Something was going to happen soon.

OOOOO

Xelloss glanced up at the dark sky, knowing that Firia would be even more suspicious when he returned to their campsite at this time. He had only been gone for an hour, but since when did it take an hour to buy some food! Not that it mattered. Firia was powerless against Xelloss.

Xelloss grinned as he watched a busy seafood restaurant from his position high in the sky. This was certainly interesting. Who would have thought that Lina and Gourry would be in such a small, almost deserted town?

Well, at least Xelloss knew exactly where to lead Firia the next morning. There was only one more piece of information that he needed. He would have to take care of it tomorrow afternoon. Xelloss needed to know if Zelgadiss had already split up with Ameria, or if the chimera was still staying in Seyruun castle. Whatever the situation, this was turning out to be quite interesting...

**End Note: **I'M SOOO SORRY! Well, KINDA sorry, at least. I kept ya waiting for quite awhile, and then this chapter didn't even tell what happened next to Ameria and Zelgadiss. That was mean of me, huh? But it wasn't my fault! Really! FANFICTION. NET WASN'T WORKING ON THURSDAY! So I couldn't update! Aw, well. So, the plot's finally unfolding. Yay! I'll try to update faster next time. Now, then:

**Reviewer Response: **

_vampire cuttlefish: _My story is your candy? WOW! I'm so happy to hear that! Anyways, you bet that Zelgadiss is going to apologize! And he'll eventually stop being so stupid!

_Gerao-A: _Yep, Zel's being the master of jerks right now. But only right now. He'll get nicer... bit by bit... And I'm ALMOST sure that there will be 31 chapters, but not positive. I lengthened the plot of the story so that I could fit Rezo in... Because I love Rezo too much to leave him out.

_Maddy02: _It... it's not corny! W-wow... that's such a nice thing to say (and thanks for not slapping me, although you probably want to after I took so long). Ha ha ha! Zel's one of MY favorites too, but it always bugged me how sad he made Ameria. I wanted to emphasize that in this fic.

_Mistress DragonFlame: _Wow. My goal was to make the readers angry at Zel- but I wasn't expecting that they actually would! Don't worry, the apology will come sooner then you think!

_Yexis Metallium: _Okay! I guess you REALLY think that it's a short chapter, huh? Sorry! I'm updating as fast as I can! My fingers are bleeeeeding because I'm working so hard. And I won't take NINE days to update this time... I'll TRY to keep it at seven, maybe. And I won't abandon this topic. I'm HOPING to finish it off in a couple months, though that might not happen.

_Motokonobaka: _Hmmmmmm. :checks plans: No plans for any dragon slaves at this time, but I will have the 'knock-some-sense-into-Zel' like I promised, although no physical knocking...


	8. Chapter 8: Hey! Isn't that Zelgadiss?

**Author's Note: **I'M SORRY I TOOK SO LONG! I have an excuse, but I think you'd rather read the chappy you've been waiting a long time for then listen to me yammer away. SO the excuses will come AFTER the chapter.

Chapter 8: Hey! Is that Zelgadiss?

**Disclaimer: **I'm wasting more of your time by posting this: SLAYERS ISN'T MINE.

Zelgadiss plucked one of the guitar strings with a clumsy stone finger. It made a dull, dead strumming sound. It was as if the life had been sucked out of the guitar the second he had left Ameria. It had been only two days since he had left Seyruun Castle, but they had been two, miserable days filled with depression.

Why had he left? Ameria's words echoed in his head: "Why are you leaving when things are going so well?" They were so true. Things had been going well. And he had left them behind. For what? A mad search that had been continuing for far too long.

A voice deep inside told Zelgadiss that Rezo, the grandfather that he hated so much, had done the same thing. He had left behind Eris to go on a crazy search for a cure for his blindness. And had met a horrible end. No! Zelgadiss forced himself to believe that his search was different from Rezo's. That it actually made sense.

Besides, he WOULD find his cure. He wouldn't end up like Rezo. That cure HAD to be out there somewhere. If he had stayed in Seyruun then he would have been much worse off then he was right now, living as an ugly chimera for the rest of his life.

But that annoying little voice refused to believe his excuses. It told them that if he had been considerate enough to stay with Ameria for at least a little while longer, there would have been a huge difference in his life. He would be sitting in his guest room, having one of those chats with Ameria that he had grown to love instead of lying in prickly dried grass by the roadside, trying to bring some life into a guitar.

"I'm horrible," Zelgadiss groaned in a voice that sounded hoarse and filled with sadness. A dead voice to match with the dead guitar. A dead world. The world that Zelgadiss had been in before he had met Ameria. The cure didn't even seem important to him anymore. Nothing did, except for Ameria, of course.

Zelgadiss set the guitar beside him and drifted off into an exhausted sleep. To get away from all the pain. To get away from his body. To get away from his dead world. To get away from everything. Everything...

OOOOO

"I thought that you said last night that we were going to stay in this area for a couple days," Gourry insisted, staring questioningly at Lina as they walked down the dusty road.

"I know what I said. And we ARE going to stay in this area. There is one more town before we hit Seyruun and I think that that would be the best place to stay," Lina explained, realizing that this must have been the fourth time she had explained this to Gourry.

"Hmmmmm..." Gourry hummed, deep in concentration as he tried to understand what Lina meant. Lina sighed. Someday Gourry was going to seriously hurt himself if he thought that hard.

Not that Lina really minded. Gourry's jellyfish brains could get annoying, but it was just like when Gourry had treated her like a kid- Lina had gotten used to it. Besides, it made Lina feel in control. Someone like Zelgadiss would disagree with her often since he usually had good ideas of his own. But when it was just her and Gourry, things seemed to run smoothly.

"Never mind," Lina shook her head at Gourry, stopping his thoughts before his jellyfish brains exploded under the strain.

"You've been acting weird lately!" Gourry commented, fixing his concerned-filled eyes on Lina.

"What do you mean?" Lina asked carelessly, avoiding his gaze. Leave it to Gourry to read her inner-emotions. He may not have the most brains but when it came to reading people's emotions, Gourry was a natural. He always seemed to know exactly what Lina was feeling. Lina HAD been acting strange lately.

It was because she was worried sick about Ameria. Every time they had split up with Ameria, Lina worried. But this time it was worse. Ameria was like a little sister to Lina, so naturally, Lina was overly protective of her. Also, Ameria got lonely very easily and Lina couldn't help but feel guilty every time Gourry and her left on a long string of travels.

"Well, you haven't eaten as much lately and last night you seemed very worried about something," Gourry explained, not taking his sight off of Lina. Gourry's concerned look was making Lina feel guilty for trying to hide her feelings from Gourry and it was making her feel embarrassed. She hated it when people worried over her. She could take care of herself. And Gourry worried about her constantly.

"I'm fine. Just worried about Ameria," Lina assured him, deciding to tell the truth for once. She felt heat spread through her cheeks. Guessing that she was blushing, Lina quickly turned her face away from Gourry and pretended to look at the roadside.

"Me too," Gourry agreed, realizing that she was truly okay and taking his eyes off of her. This surprised Lina. She had always thought that she was the only one who worried about Ameria during the time they were away from Seyruun.

Lina was glad that she could talk to Gourry like this without having to worry about her reputation being ruined. It used to be where she had to lie about her feelings because she was worried that Gourry would tease her about being a little kid if she told him that she was concerned about someone else. But Lina had come to realize that Gourry had seen through her act from the beginning and had known that she secretly cared about everyone that she traveled with.

When Lina had realized this, she had begun to tell the truth when it was just her and Gourry. It was hard to bottle up feelings inside and Lina was relieved to have someone like Gourry who she could talk deeply to without getting TOO embarrassed. Zelgadiss or Ameria, on the other hand, they were some of the biggest teasers in the world. And Xelloss? Lina wouldn't talk deeply to him if he was the last person (or Mazoku in this case) on earth.

A peaceful silence had filled the area and Lina felt that out of all the people in the world she could have been traveling with, she was glad she was walking along the road with Gourry.

"Hey, Lina?" Gourry suddenly began, shaking gently on Lina's shoulder to signal her to face him.

"What? What is it?" Lina questioned, raising her eyebrow in confusion. Gourry stopped walking and signaled Lina to do the same. As Lina stopped, she wondered what Gourry wanted to say.

"That looks like a person at the side of the road," Gourry pointed to a random area in the prickly brown grass. Lina squinted as she tried to see this 'person' in the sea of identical brown grass. Ah! That's what he was talking about. There was a whitish figure lying in the grass that was, in fact, a person.

"They're probably just napping, Gourry. Let's leave them alone," Lina commanded, ready to start walking again.

"But doesn't it look like... Zelgadiss?" Gourry asked, staring hard at the figure. Lina turned back around to focus on the figure again. It DID kind of look like Zelgadiss. But he was in Seyruun. At least, he had BETTER to be.

"Yeah... it does. Let's check more closely," Lina agreed, wading through the tall, dead grass to get a better look. Gourry obediently followed her.

It WAS Zelgadiss. There old traveling partner lay sprawled in the grass, fast asleep. A black guitar lay by his side.

"What's Zelgadiss doing here?" Gourry asked, staring in bewilderment at the chimera.

"I don't know," Lina replied truthfully, prodding the guitar with one of her feet.

"I didn't know that Zelgadiss played the guitar," Gourry remarked, staring at the instrument curiously.

"I didn't either," Lina agreed.

"I thought that Zelgadiss was in Seyruun," Gourry observed. The situation suddenly came rushing to Lina. Seyruun! Ameria was all alone in Seyruun. Why had Zelgadiss left her alone?

"I thought so too," Lina agreed, her voice taking an angry tone. She had known that Zelgadiss would leave sometime; she just hadn't thought he would leave so soon. Besides, Lina had had a conversation with Zelgadiss which she had hoped would make him think more about Ameria's feelings.

**Flashback**

"Well, we have to get back on the road," Lina concluded, noting out of the corner of her eye that Gourry had already begun walking.

"Yeah, I have to continue the search soon," Zelgadiss agreed, a sad look filling his eyes. For some reason this comment filled Lina with frustration and even a bit of sadness. She and Gourry had already said their goodbyes to Ameria the night before, and had managed to catch Zelgadiss this early in the morning right before they left.

"Zelgadiss," Lina began, not using her nickname for him to show that she was serious. She reached upwards slightly to grab his shoulder and stared right into his eye that wasn't hidden by hair.

"What?" Zelgadiss asked, a curious expression on his face.

"Don't leave Ameria in such a hurry. She wants you to stay," Lina warned, the serious expression not leaving her face. Zelgadiss jerked loose from her grip.

"Alright. Whatever," he agreed, although Lina was almost sure that he didn't mean it. Lina felt all heated up and upset for some reason. Maybe it was because Zelgadiss's carelessness made her mad. Or maybe it was because she didn't want Ameria to get hurt by the one she loved most. Most probably, it was both.

"You'd better not," Lina snapped before whirling around and charging after Gourry. Not the nicest of goodbyes, especially to one of her good friends; but Lina thought that he deserved it.

Lina liked Zelgadiss as a friend and enjoyed his company (sometimes), but she was really fed up with his whole cure thing. She was worried that if Zelgadiss continued to chase after something he would never find, he would end up hurting both himself and Ameria.

**End Flashback**

"Maybe we should wake him up," Gourry suggested.

"Yeah... okay," Lina muttered, her mind on different things. She couldn't believe the way Zelgadiss acted sometimes. When he woke up, she would find some time to talk with him alone. And maybe Dragon Slave some sense into him.

OOOOO

Firia knew that Xelloss was up to something. When he had shown up late last night and told her that the shop had been 'busy', Firia had instantly begun thinking over every possibility of what Xelloss could be thinking. First of all, he seemed to want to accidentally run into Lina and Gourry way too much. So, obviously, Lina and maybe Gourry had something to do with his plans.

Another thing Firia was still wondering about was why Xelloss wanted her to come along. It made Firia uneasy and maybe even a bit afraid to think that Xelloss needed her for something. What could it be? She knew holy magic, which no one else in their group did. But what would Xelloss need holy magic for?

Firia tried to convince herself that the only way to find out what Xelloss was planning would be just to play along, but another part of her desperately wished that she could confront him and get this whole thing over with.

"What's the matter, Firia-san?" Xelloss asked, an innocent grin spread across his face, "Aren't you ready to transport?"

"Nothing's the matter. I'm ready," Firia lied, dropping her thoughts on the situation.

"Alright. Remember the location I told you to go to," Xelloss reminded her before disappearing into thin air.

"As if I could forget..." Firia muttered after he had left. There was the noise of rushing air as she followed him. Whatever Xelloss was planning, she would find out soon.

**End Note: **Okay, NOW its apology time. I'M SO SORRY! Your poor people. This was such a short chapter and it STILL hasn't told you what happened to Ameria. PLUS, I took ssssooooooo long to get this chapter out. Sorry, sorry, sorry. Okay, now the excuses: First of all, I published a Naruto fanfiction that I had been working hours on since it was difficult for me to write. Second, I'M IN A REALLY TOUGH SPOT IN MY STORY. I'm writing chapter twelve right now, but chapter eleven was the hardest chapter I've ever written in my life. For those of you who didn't read my profile: I'm going to update from now on EVERYTIME I WRITE ANOTHER CHAPTER. So the updating times could vary from one or two days to one or two weeks. Sorry! GOSH, I'm so boring. I'll shut up now. Time for response to reviewers.

**Response to Reviewers: **

_Yexis Metallium: _Gosh. YOU should talk. You only update once a week as well! ANYWAYS, glad ya liked my chapter. It's kinda weird that you forgot it was my story, though... I'll try to be faster updating next time but I make no promises.

_Ichiban Victory: _Yay. I'm glad you like my Firia/ Xelloss stuff. I have a REAL hard time writing about Gourry and Xelloss... Poor Lina. She does seem to have a lot to worry about.

_Gerao-A: _Wow. Everyone wants me to half-kill Zel. I was planning to go easy on him, but now? Meh heh heh...

_Maddy02: _I'm so glad you're enjoying this story. Heh heh heh... I think it's funny how Lina worries over Ameria. And then she pretends NOT to. Stupid, cute Lina...

_Mistress DragonFlame: _I don't blame you at all for being mad at Zel. After I worte chapter six, I got REALLY mad at him at yelled at him every time he came on the TV screen when I was watching Slayers. I'm so weird. And I hope that Xelloss's plans aren't disappointing to you. They're actually pretty lame compared to all the build-up.

_vampire cuttlefish: _Uh-oh. YOU'RE looking forward to Xel's plans as well. Maybe I should rethink about them and make them more... unlame. Yeah. Glad you love my fluffies so much!

Okay. I THINK this is everybody that reviewed. If I miss you, I'm sorry. You may kill me with a lawnmower to make yourself feel better if I do. ANYWAYS, up next is FINALLY a bit of Ameria... AND Zel's fate. DUN DUN DUN! See ya guys next time.


	9. Chapter 9: What? Could This be a Cure?

**Author's Note: **For those of you who read 'For Ameria': SORRY! I don't know what got into me. But now I'm happy and giggling at everything. So, yeah. For those of you who read my profile: I updated today just like I promised I would! This is a lot quicker then my other updates because the rough draft of chapter 12 slid onto the paper like... slidey snakes! So with further ado, here's the next chappy of Stone Cold:

Chapter 9: What? Could this be a Cure?

**Disclaimer: **Fa la la laaaa! I'm going to try an opera today:

'Slaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayersssss...

Is not mine.' DU-DU-DUN! (Yes, I'm sickeningly happy right now)

Ameria flipped through the pages of a book about white magic, depression showing in her eyes. Her eyes stared blankly at the book, but they were out of focus as she thought about other things. It was her fifth time flipping through the book as she tried to cheer herself up. She loved the atmosphere of her enormous library full of smooth tables, the scent of fresh paper, and too many books to count. She was trying to continue Zelgadiss's research for a cure, but was having no luck since her mind was elsewhere.

She propped her head up lazily with one arm, looking blindly at the pages. She could faintly make out jumble of fuzzy black writing. But only the shallow front of her mind was on the book; the rest of her mind was churning with thoughts about everything that had happened just a few days ago. This was the first time she was able to think about the one who meant so much to her without crying.

As Ameria continued to numbly skim through the pages, she thought of Zelgadiss. The familiar, rocky face that she had grown to love. The tangled hair that had once gotten stuck in a table. His voice, soothing and (usually) calm. Zelgadiss looked as if he belonged in a hero book himself. This was one of the things that Ameria had loved about him.

In fact, she loved nearly everything about him. She could remember the times they had spent together; how much their relationship had grown over the short piece of their lives that they had spent together. He was the most important person in the world to Ameria, even more important then the father she had always looked up to. Deep feelings had quickly risen into Ameria's heart after traveling with him for just awhile. A certain 'something' that Zelgadiss had to him that was different from anything else. Something about him that made Ameria love him.

Ameria had thought that he had felt the same- or almost the same- about her. But she had obviously been wrong. Zelgadiss liked her as a companion, but she was no different from Lina or Gourry to him. Ameria had thought that if SHE liked Zelgadiss just the way he was, that maybe- maybe he wouldn't care about the others.

But it seemed as if Zelgadiss would never be satisfied with his life until he was human once again. That was why Ameria had to help him. She wanted him to stay in Seyruun with-

Ameria jolted out of her thoughts, shaking her head in surprise. In the mass of words she had been reading, Ameria had thought she had seen 'Chimera'. It might just be a false alarm, but this was the first time Ameria had ever seen the word 'Chimera' in one of the books she was reading.

Ameria flipped the book over so she could see the front cover. The book was faded red in color and looked extremely ancient. It was just a simple book about white magic, though. Ameria had actually read it a couple times before she met Zelgadiss. It was dull and overly-descriptive, and had had nothing about the spells that Ameria had wanted to learn at the time. It was more on the historical side.

Which probably meant that the passage about chimeras was just explaining experiments that people sometimes did. But there was still a bit of hope. Ameria turned back to the page she had been saving with her finger and stared intently at the page. The more Ameria read, the more she could hardly believe that she wasn't dreaming.

After finishing the page, she quickly flipped to the next one, to see if the passage continued, which it didn't. But that didn't matter. She had read enough. Ameria wasn't one hundred percent positive, but she might just have found a way to cure Zelgadiss. Oooh... If only he hadn't left. Ameria wished that she could talk to him right now, tell him what she had read. But that was impossible.

Which meant that Ameria would have to leave immediately and find Zelgadiss herself. Ameria rose and was almost ready to dash out of the library to prepare for a trip, when she froze. Zelgadiss wouldn't want to see her. His words echoed through Ameria's head, making tears well up in her eyes. 'Ameria... Get away from me. Please...' He had sounded more serious then Ameria had ever heard him before.

Zelgadiss wanted Ameria to STAY away from him, not follow him around. And Ameria wasn't too sure that she wanted to see Zelgadiss either. I mean, he had just left her, after all that she had done to try and get him to stay. Zelgadiss had left her to pursue the never-ending search for a cure. Ameria wanted to give him the information... but what would she say? What COULD she say?

Ameria wasn't sure that she could gather up the courage to speak to Zelgadiss again. Ah! That was it! Ameria could find Lina and Gourry and have THEM pass on the information to Zelgadiss. That way she wouldn't have to talk with Zelgadiss, but he could still get the important information she had just read.

That was it! Ameria dashed out of the room, leaving the book open to the page that she left it on. Ameria would get it after she had lightly packed for a trip. Lina and Gourry could be pretty far away by now, so Ameria had no idea how many days to pack for, or how much money to bring.

Whatever. She could figure this stuff out later. What mattered now was that Zelgadiss got the information. Ameria sighed with pleasure, but also felt a bit of fear deep in her heart. This was the first trip that she was going to take completely alone. Ameria felt strongly that no one could come with her. Slamming the door behind her, Ameria raced down the hallway to begin preparations.

OOOOO

Just seconds after the door to the library had slammed shut, Xelloss teleported into the room. He smiled wickedly, glad that he had finally managed to settle Firia down in a comfortable inn room. Everything was going perfect. The inn that Xelloss and Firia were staying at was so close to the town Lina was staying at that Xelloss could WALK there in less then half a day if he wanted to.

And now, to top it off, it turned out that Zelgadiss had, in fact, left Ameria. That didn't really affect his plans in any way; it was the book that Ameria had been reading that mattered to him. Xelloss walked calmly to the wooden table, keeping his senses alert for any sound that signaled Ameria's return.

He picked up the book from its place on the table, and scanned over the page. Xelloss's grin widened as he read through the words. Well. This certainly was interesting. It appeared that Zelgadiss and Ameria would be coming along for the ride as well. Not that Xelloss minded. Sure, there was the justice speeches, but Xelloss had learned to deal with those (by giving Ameria her way).

Besides, when Xelloss was finished using them, he could easily lose them. Except for Firia, he didn't have much use for anyone else. But this book... well, it certainly made things easier- and more interesting. This whole plan was at first just a stab in the dark, but it certainly seemed that Xelloss would now definitely find what he was looking for.

Deciding that it would be best to return to the inn before Firia woke up, Xelloss decided to leave. Xelloss returned the book to his original spot and then transported away. He was just in time, to, for Ameria returned to the room seconds later with a bag of supplies that were just itching to go on a journey.

OOOOO

"So, you left her didn't you?"

Zelgadiss looked up from his coffee, startled that Lina had brought up this topic already. He was sitting on one of the beds in the room they were staying in (the room had three beds). Gourry had generously offered to do his 'pick up and bring back' routine for dinner. Lina had hurriedly agreed. Too hurriedly. Zelgadiss had been suspicious that she might try to push him into something like this, but he was still startled.

"What are you talking about, Lina?" Zelgadiss asked calmly, deciding it was best to take the innocent approach to this conversation. He knew that Lina was talking about Ameria, and that she was angry, so he decided it would be best not to turn this into an argument.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about! You left Ameria when she needed you most, right?" Lina shot back at him, refusing to even consider believing his innocent act. Zelgadiss could tell by the look on her face that she was not kidding around. Lina must have bottled up these feelings for quite a long time, and had probably been waiting for the perfect opportunity to start this conversation.

"Would you stop that? Ameria doesn't need me. And you know I have to find my cure," Zelgadiss, despite the warnings that were screaming in his brain, found himself becoming a little angry as well. He was frustrated that he had made the wrong choice by leaving Seyruun, and didn't want Lina snapping at him.

"You HAVE to find a cure, huh?" Lina spat, disgust weighing down her tone. Zelgadiss opened his mouth but found that no words came out. This last comment had really caught him off guard. He emotionally felt that he HAD to find his cure. That he couldn't live a peaceful life without it. So why did Lina make him feel like his choice had been so easy to make that a five year old could have done it without much thought!

"Of course I do!" Zelgadiss finally answered, making sure to make his tone completely confident. Lina was very good at sensing weaknesses and any stammering in his voice would give away how unsure he truly was.

"What about after you find your cure? What then? Who will be left to even care how you look? You wanna lose everyone important to you!" Lina questioned, her voice losing some of the snapping tone and being replaced with something more like... sadness?

Zelgadiss stared dumbly at Lina. She was so sickeningly... right! If he finally was able to turn back into his human form, who would be there to even care about the difference? Everyone he was close to would be sick of... waiting for him. Waiting for him to succeed in something nearly impossible. Why! Why did no one else think it was important for him to once again have his original body? They all seemed to think it didn't matter, but it mattered so much to him.

"No one is important to me," Zelgadiss answered, turning his face away from Lina. He was unable to hide the quavering in his voice this time; it was horribly obvious.

"Would you stop pretending!" Lina's tone had soared back up to furiously snappy. Zelgadiss rubbed his forehead with one of his hands in irritation. It was true he was pretending, but did she have to make him sound like such a little kid! It was better to hide your emotions instead of making them a weakness! Wasn't it?

"Look, Lina. Are you saying that I made the wrong choice in going after my only hopes? Are you saying it was wrong for me not to give up on the only purpose I have of living?" Zelgadiss asked, turning his face back towards Lina and looking her seriously in the eye.

"Yeah. You did," Lina answered with no hesitation, glaring back at him seriously. Before Zelgadiss could reply to this, Lina rose from her seat on the bed. Zelgadiss flinched, bracing himself for a painful spell to come his way. But none came (yet).

"Gourry and I will be staying in another inn. Pay for this room yourself, 'heartless swordsman'! Since you like being lonely so much," Lina concluded, storming out of the door without even giving Zelgaidss a last look. The door forcefully banged shut, leaving a very shaken chimera sitting on one of the beds by himself.

"I'm doing the right thing," Zelgadiss muttered, staring across the room at his face in the mirror. But although he said these words, he no longer could force himself to believe them. Lina was right. He had really messed up. And now after he had put on that stupid heartless swordsman act, he no longer had Lina to turn to for advice of what to do.

Zelgadiss's eyes slipped out of focus as his thoughts continued. He had an ugly body, but at least his mind and personality had been turning out to be okay. But now... now Zelgadiss didn't know what to think. He didn't know if there was anything outside or inside his body that was positive. He was stupid. And not in the same way as Gourry. In a much worse way. Sure, he knew who Shabranigdu was and how to cast a fair amount of magic, but what else did he have? The answer was nothing. Nothing until he shaped up, at least. Zelgadiss knew that if he wanted to keep his friends he would have to give up the search for his cure. But he wasn't quite sure that he wanted to let it go yet...

OOOOOOO

Lina stood with her back to the door, quivering with rage. That...that guy was so...so... FULL OF HIMSELF! Lina could control her anger no longer and whirled around to face Zelgadiss's inn door, a sphere of light hovering in her hands.

"THAT LITTLE- DRAGON SLAAAAAAAAAVE!"

"DRAGON SLAVE! DRAGON SLAVE! DRAGON SLAVE! DRAGON SLAAAAAAAAVE!"

Lina watched with satisfaction as the entire inn burst into flames, hovering over the wreckage in a wind barrier. Hmmmph! Maybe that would teach that stubborn little rat not to be so selfish! But those spells had really worn her out. The last time she had cast that many Dragon Slaves was who knows when! Now all she had to do was find Gourry before he went back to the inn which was now just a pile of rubble. Aaaaaah, she felt so much better now!

**End Note: **Hee hee hee! That was fun! I took all my anger out on Zel. But he deserved it. Leaving Ameria like that... hmph! Okay, now to happy the day with the response to the reviewers:

**Response to Happy Friends: **

_Yexis Metallium: _Yexis is a meanie! AGAIN! Making me write a depressing fic... **:grumble grumble:** ANYWAYS, Xelloss's plans ain't coming for a while. Like maybe six chapters. Sorry! Actually not sorry, it's payback!

_Mistress DragonFlame: _No, they didn't destroy his guitar. It survived the dragon slaves (somehow) I think I MIGHT have mentioned it in other chapters- but I really don't know. There will be more guitar! If they wrecked his guitar...I'd be sad too!

_vampire cuttlefish: _I'm glad that Gourry's in character because I HATE WRITING Gourry. Every sentence with Gourry is agony! And this is the same with Xelloss too, except not as bad. Yay! You don't care what Xelloss's plans are! Yay! That means I can be lazy. I hope you didn't die since I updated this pretty fast.

_Gerao-A: _Zel sure got it. And lived for some reason... Why did he live? Oh well. He'll have to pay for the damage done to the inn (and that was a lot of damage). Poor Zel... kind of.

_Maddy02: _The gang isn't all together until... I don't know- chapter fourteen? They keep on being ALMOST together with one person missing until then... oh well. I WISH you would post the AZ chapter NOW! But I will be patient. And i don't think that Zel will ever get so depressed again. Eh, Maybe once. The story is going to be NICE to him from now on since I feel guilty.

_Motokonobaka: _Yes, that is the whole point. If it didn't hurt, then people would get no satisfaction from it. Besides, I'm used to pain! **:punches self in the head: **I've got a violent little brother who just LOVES to punch me. Zel actually got **:counts the story: **FIVE Dragon Slaves of sense. Wow.

_Ichiban Victory: _Yay! I think that Zel will be a good boy now. Or at least, Lina will MAKE him be a good boy. Poor Zelly-Welly...Oh well! At least he can cheer up Ameria next time he sees her. But when will that be? Oooooh, I wonder.

So, when will the next update be? The correct answer is: As soon as I finish the rough draft of chapter thirteen. And who knows how long THAT will take. Coming up next: _"Hey, watch where you- What?" Lina broke off her sentence into a startled gasp as she met eyes with the last person she expected to see._ Taken straight from chapter ten! See ya guys later!


	10. Chapter 10: The Big Reunion PART ONE

**Author's Beginning Note: **Eighth Grade is hard. Yes, I know that is a very bad excuse, but it's half-true. I'm swamped in lakes of math homework. And I've never been a math kinda girl. Stupid algebra...

Anyways, what I'm trying to say is: Sorry for the (kinda)delay and please enjoy the next chapter of Stone Cold:

Chapter 10: The Big Reunion (Part 1)

**Disclaimer: **Yeah, I own Slayers. I own Zelgadiss and Ameria and all the other little cuties. I can do whatever I want to them. **:nose grows: **Okay, That was a lie.

"I don't believe him! I really don't believe him! Even FIVE dragon slaves couldn't make me feel satisfied about that guy!" Lina screeched with rage, grinding her teeth together.

"What happened, Lina?" Gourry asked in confusion, scratching his head as he thought of the possibilities. Gourry had just been purchasing food for him, Lina, and Zelgadiss when Lina had come rushing into the restaurant, red-faced with fury and looking as if she might cry. Gourry instantly knew that something was wrong.

Lina had then insisted that they stay at a different inn and had been muttering strange things like, 'I can't understand why he can be such aaaaaaaaaaah- I HATE HIM!' all during dinner. The two of them were sitting on the beds at the inn, munching on theh food that Gourry had just bought. Yet, she had refused to tell Gourry what was the matter. Gourry didn't want to sound like he was hounding, but he was truly concerned about what had happened to Lina.

"It's nothing to worry about, jellyfish. I just got in a little argument with Zel," Lina explained, a smile creeping across her face. Gourry wondered why she always smiled when he was all worked up and concerned about her. It was like she thought it was funny! Aw, well. The important thing was that she had finally confessed what was wrong. So Zelgadiss was the problem.

This was strange. Lina had sometimes attacked Zel when she thought he was acting stupid, but the two of them usually didn't get into 'arguments'. That meant that they had both been part of the fight. It was unusual for Zelgadiss to get worked up over something enough for him to argue about it.

"Are you okay, though?" Gourry questioned, staring in concern at Lina. Her cheeks were still red and her eyes were still sparkling with emotion. And the large drumstick she was gnawing on didn't seem to be cheering her up. The last thing Gourry wanted was for Lina to be extremely upset about something when he wanted to be there for her to cheer her up.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Lina snapped. Gourry flinched at the sudden harshness in her voice but didn't take it personally. He knew that Lina was just distracted by whatever Zelgadiss and she had argued about, and knew that she wasn't angry at him as a person.

"Alright then," Gourry replied, though he didn't take his concerned gaze off of her face. He decided that this time it was best for Lina to work this out herself, since she didn't seem to want to go any deeper on the subject.

Lina continued to nibble at her chicken, refusing to meet his eyes. Finally, with a pained sigh, Lina thrust the chicken on Gourry's plate.

"You finish this up," Lina grumbled, looking down at the floor. Without another word, she trudged over to her bed and climbed right in after only taking off her cape and excessive jewelry. She didn't even bother to flip off the lights.

Gourry ate Lina's chicken in silence, unable to even enjoy the taste of it. He wasn't especially hungry anymore. Lina's back was turned to him, and was practically all under the covers to begin with, so he couldn't see her expression. But Gourry felt that this whole situation would be better when Zelgadiss and Lina finally made up. So he wished that they would. Because Gourry felt miserable inside when Lina was like this.

OOOOOO

"Aaaaaaah! That was what I call a breakfast!" Lina sighed, stretching her arms above her head as she and Gourry walked along the crowded road. After a miserable night, Lina had decided that her bad attitude was unfair to Gourry and was trying her best to be bright and cheerful. The two of them still hadn't met up with Zel again yet, and both didn't feel like dropping by his inn room to see if he was there.

"Maybe we should eat at the same place for lunch!" Gourry exclaimed, licking his lips in remembrance of the delicious meal.

"Yeah, that sounds good," Lina agreed, grinning back at Gourry. Not only had it been a great meal, Lina felt that she and Gourry had actually had quite a bit of good conversation with each other. She even felt mostly cheered up after the fight.

So cheered up, in fact, that Lina was too busy grinning at Gourry to look where she was going. Lina's body slammed into another person roughly, making Lina gasp in surprise.

"Hey, watch where you- What?" Lina broke off her sentence into a startled gasp as she met eyes with the last person she expected to see.

"Lina-san!" Ameria squealed, leaping in the air and wrapping Lina in a firm bear hug.

"Ameria!" Lina choked through the rough grasp. She broke loose from Ameria's hug and put her in a loose headlock, "What are YOU doing here!"

"I could ask you the same thing! I thought you and Gourry-san were going to travel far from Seyruun but you're just hours away from it!" Ameria squeaked brightly, struggling in Lina's grip.

"But...but Gourry and I USUALLY travel everywhere... but... you..." Lina mercifully released Ameria from her hold and took a shaky step backwards in surprise.

"Shouldn't you be in Seyruun?" Gourry added stupidly, bracing himself for the hug attack that was sure to come.

"Gourry-san!" Ameria fulfilled Gourry's prediction with a rough hug of justice, "I'm so happy to see you guys!"

"Yeah! But you still haven't answered my question!" Lina pointed out, still startled by Ameria's appearance.

"It's a bit of a long story- and I have something to show you," Ameria explained, releasing Gourry so she could reach into a bag full of supplies.

"Wait, wait! We can't listen to stories in the middle of town," Lina replied, shoving through the thick crowd of people to reach a solitary bench across the street. Ameria and Gourry obediently followed her through the crowd. Lina sat gratefully down on the bench, gesturing Ameria and Gourry to do the same.

"So, tell us the long story," Gourry begged, sitting down next to Lina.

"Well, I guess I should start from when you two left Seyruun," Ameria decided still digging through her bag for the something that she apparently wanted to show them.

"Well, after you and Gourry-san left Seyruun, Zelgadiss-san and I began to check through the libraries," Ameria continued. Lina felt a pang of sadness when she heard the way Ameria said Zelgadiss's name. She made it sound so empty. Well, he had left her without warning. Lina didn't blame Ameria for being upset with him; being mad at him herself. That jerk!

"Well, after a few days or so, Zelgadiss-san wasn't able to find anything worth looking at so he... uh... left..." Ameria continued, her voice sounded a bit strained. Lina curled her hand into an angry fist. Did Zelgadiss even realize how much pain he had put Ameria through with just five minutes of his selfishness! Hearing Ameria's tone made Lina even more furious with Zelgadiss.

Lina glanced over at Gourry and the two of them exchanged a silent nod. They both knew that for the time being they shouldn't tell Ameria that Zelgadiss was actually staying in an inn only a ten minute walk from the bench they were sitting at.

"But after that, I found something might help him! Let me show you," Ameria's expression brightened and her voice was more confident as she jerked the item she had been searching for from her bag. It was a just your average white magic book, though it did look a bit on the old side.

"Wha? A book?" Gourry asked, staring at the book Ameria was holding up proudly for them to see. Even Lina was a bit surprised. Ameria had just said that she and Zelgadiss had checked the libraries. So why was her solution a book?

"Yes. Zelgadiss-san and I must have overlooked this," Ameria explained, flipping through the pages to an area marked with a blue bookmark with 'Justice!' written on it. She took a deep breath before continuing, showing Lina the book as if she was showing a picture book to a little kid.

"According to this page-long passage in the book, there was once a great building devoted to the study of white magic. But before the results of all the magical experiments were shared with the public, the building became deserted for reasons unknown. Some tried to get into the building, but found that all the entrances were sealed. It was written on one of the stone walls that only those with powerful white magic would be able to get through. But for some reason all of those who tried to get inside ended up dead. In an effort to save all of the foolish adventurers who threw away their lives trying to get inside, the local villagers planted a forest around the building.

The cursed building seemed to make the forest grow faster with some unknown magical power and within twenty years a dense forest shielded the area from view. There were still those who tried, but after even more died, the quest to get inside the building was abandoned. No one knows if the building is still even there anymore," Ameria finished, looking seriously at Lina.

"So, you're thinking that..." Lina began, scanning through the page just to double check the story.

"Yes. I think that this might be the answer to Zelgadiss-san's troubles," Ameria finished, nodding. Gourry peered over Lina's head at the book, trying to make some sense from what Ameria had just told them.

"So...uhhhh... Why are you telling us this?" He finally asked, scratching his head in bewilderment. Lina nodded in agreement. For a jellyfish, Gourry sure could ask the best questions.

"Well, I was-uhhhhhh- Do you think that... Could you pass this information on to Zelgadiss-san?" Ameria blurted out, staring in sadness at the pages of the ancient book. Lina looked again at Gourry but received no silent opinion about how she should answer this from him. So she just decided to give Zelgadiss a second chance at his relationship with Ameria.

"Why should I do that when you tell him yourself? Zelgadiss is staying in an inn not too far from here!" Lina explained, leaning back on the bench. Gourry's mouth opened wide in shock. He seemed unable to believe that Lina had just given Ameria this information. But Lina felt that what she had done was right. Lina was almost sure that if Zelgadiss had a chance to be alone and face to face with Ameria, he would apologize for being such a jerk. It would not only help Zelgadiss get rid of his burdening guilt, but it would also let Ameria know that he actually cared for her.

Now was the time for Lina test Ameria as well. Would she flat out refuse to stay in the same town that Zelgadiss was in? Would she break down crying? Lina didn't know what her reaction would be, but she hoped that it would be positive. If Ameria had just one chance to knock some sense into Zelgadiss, Lina knew that he would shape up. Zelgadiss was slowly becoming unable to resist Ameria's wishes. He was under her charm. Heh heh...Lina snapped back into attention as she realized that Ameria was speaking.

Her voice was a mixture of emotion. It sounded mostly in shock, with some sadness and even- anger?- mixed in. And was that... even a little bit of hopefulness? Her face remained fairly blank, as though she was numb with shock.

"Zelgadiss-san? Here!"

**End Note: **This chapter... I really didn't like it. It seemed a little unclear and badly worded in my opinion. Yet, I couldn't reword the sentences. Figures... Anyways, enough about me- let's talk about reviews:

**To the Reviewers, reviewers and more reviewers (and nice ones at that!):**

_Gerao-A: _Yeah... Isn't it weird that people always survive Lina's Dragon Slave when it's funny- but during the serious scenes they always die. That's Slayers for ya...

_Maddy02: _I'm going as fast as I can (kinda)...I'm trying to update once a week- but I'm a bit lazy (AND there's the math homework that I mentioned earlier). Ameria will get her cheering up from a certain chimera in a few chapters! Hooray for fluffies!

_vampire cuttlefish: _it's not that I don't like writing Gourry- I just have an agonizingly hard time doing it. Sorry Gourry-Wourry!

_Mistress DragonFlame: _Hmmmmm... Maybe it's just one of those mysteries of plot gaps. I think I'll take your idea of a protection spell, though.

_Ichiban Victory: _Ha ha ha... I got too lazy to write about Ameria's actual journey... I'm just want the group to all be together again. This splitty-uppy thing is driving me nuts! Arrrrgh! And yeah, Lina overreacted. More then just a mite.

_e-chan16: _Yeah... I think that the Dragon Slaves were another one of my little information gaps in the story...

_DQBunny: _But... Dragon Slave is so much more fun to type then Mega Brando. Okay... I got a little (little more then little) carried away. I tend to do that. I'm glad that you've liked the story so far, though!

_Shinomori Kyo: _I'm glad you love this! I will write as fast as my hunting and pecking fingers can move (never learned to type, since I took band instead of computers)!

_Motokonobaka: _Yay! I'm so happy! This is, like, the first record I've ever gotten ! Hoorah! Do you think I could be in the 'Big Book 'O Records'! That would be coooooool!

**:gasp: **No review from Yexis this time! Fine then. See if I ever review your stuffs again.

Oh yeah, if I missed anyone's review, then you have permission to kill me with a lawnmower... yadda yadda yadda

Comin' Up Next: The gang gets all together! I'll update as fast as possible! But I DO have math homework! (I messed up on the homework so I have to REDO an assignment AND do the actual homeowork!)


	11. Chapter 11: The Big Reunion PART TWO

**Author's Note: **Well, I updated quicker this time! But the chapter stinks. Sorry, but i'm not too proud of this chapter. I hope you like it a bit, anyways.

Chapter 11: The Big Reunion (Part Two)

**Disclaimer: **I. Don't. Own. Ever.

Zelgadiss lay thinking on the soft mattress in his room, casting a healing spell on the last of his vicious burns that had been given to him by Lina. After the inn he had been staying at burned to the ground due to evil Dragon Slaves, Zelgadiss had searched around town for a different one. He had, luckily, not accidentally chosen the one that Lina and Gourry were staying at, but Lina had seen him enter the inn. So that meant that she knew where he was staying. Zelgadiss shivered at the memory of being Dragon Slave'd five times in a row. Since when did Lina get THAT angry? The last thing he needed was for Lina to walk through the door to his room, still upset.

At that moment Lina walked through the door to his room, still looking very upset.

"Lina? What are you doing back here already? I thought that you'd hold a grudge for at least another week!" Zelgadiss commented in surprise, rising from his lazy position on the inn room's bed as Lina walked into his room.

"Oh, shut up!" Lina snapped, still extremely annoyed with Zelgadiss. She revved up a fireball spell in one of her hands to show Zelgadiss that she was serious. Zelgadiss got the hint and silently waited to here her reasons. Lina slowly let the fire spell fade from her hand before continuing.

"Something... unexpected happened!" Lina replied shortly, refusing to look him in the eyes. Lina hated having to speak to people that she was mad at before she was ready to. Usually, Lina just cast a Dragon Slave on anyone who annoyed her, and that was the end of it! But Lina didn't want to lose Zelgadiss as a friend, and was having a hard time controlling her emotions.

"Well?" Zelgadiss asked, a suspicious tone entering his voice. Lina observed that he looked extremely sad. Like he had gotten no sleep and instead had spent the entire night thinking over depressing topics. That was probably true.

"Ameria's here!" Lina remarked casually, hardly able to keep a straight face. Zelgadiss's reaction would be hilarious.

"Ameria? Where?" Zelgadiss gasped, his whole face suddenly flushing red. He almost fell off of his bed in surprise. He jerked his head all around the room as if checking to see if Ameria was in this very room. Finally, he focused back on Lina, a glimmer of hope in his eye.

"In the inn that Gourry and I are staying at. Waiting for YOU," Lina explained in a threatening tone, her face very close to Zelgadiss's. He nervously moved away a few inches and turned his gaze at the floor. Lina waited patiently for him to speak.

"Lina... What do I do?" Zelgadiss croaked in a strained voice, still looking away. He sounded truly upset and afraid of what was to come. Lina mercifully decided not to tease him.

"Apologize, stupid!" She instead commanded. Zelgadiss thought about her words before changing the subject.

"So, I'm guessing that you're still mad at me?" Zelgadiss asked Lina, unable to think of anything else to say. He didn't want Lina to continue being angry with him because that basically made him a Dragon Slave magnet.

"Of course I'm mad! I just decided that I was the best one to come here to get you. Gourry's too nice to convince you to visit Ameria. And Ameria... well... whatever!" Lina explained, refusing to look at Zelgadiss. He sighed wearily. It looked as if he would need to gather together all of his courage and apologize. Either that, or be on Lina's bad side for eternity.

"Well, I guess I could drop by the inn that you're staying at," Zelgadiss agreed reluctantly, his cheeks a light shade of pink. Lina held back her laughter when she saw the color.

"She's got something for you that I bet you want to see!" Lina chucked. Zelgadiss blinked at her in surprise. What did she mean? Come to think of it, why WAS Ameria in this area? Zelgadiss had been so flustered that this thought hadn't come to him yet. Was it really because she had something for him?

"Well, come on! We'll explain everything when you get there!" Lina insisted, grabbing hold of Zelgadiss's arm and jerking him forcefully to the door, "Come on, come on, come on!"

"Okay! I can walk myself," Zelgadiss hissed, trying to break free from Lina's grasp. To Zelgadiss's surprise, Lina released him. She skipped ahead of him, looking strangely happy. Zelgadiss shook his head as he followed her at his own, slow pace. He wondered what Ameria had to show him. And how he would ever apologize to her after the way he had treated her...

OOOOO

"So this white magic place- it will cure Zelgadiss, right?" Gourry asked for the fifth time, staring curiously at Ameria with his head slightly tilted to one side. Ameria sighed in exasperation, wondering how she could explain this to Gourry so it would actually stick in his head this time.

"I'm not exactly sure yet. But a place with such strong white magic is bound to have SOMETHING helpful," Ameria explained, praying that Gourry would understand this time.

"White magic is the healing kind, right?" Gourry asked dumbly, scratching his head under the strain of remembering.

"That's right," Ameria agreed, not wanting to explain that the healing magic was only PART of the white magic spells in fear of Gourry's strained head exploding.

"Aw, good! I finally know which one is which," Gourry sighed in relief, he lay back on one of the bed in the inn room. Ameria smiled at him, but her mind was elsewhere. It was still busily thinking about what had become the center of her thoughts: Zelgadiss. If he agreed to come to the inn, Ameria would be seeing him in less then ten minutes. How should she act? Ameria wasn't sure if she could treat Zelgadiss the way she used to. She was half-tempted to treat him coldly just so he would apologize.

Maybe it would be best just to leave the room when he came and let Lina tell him the news. But no... not after he came all the way to the inn. What if he didn't come to the inn? Then what? He wouldn't get to hear the news, AND Ameria might not see him again for a year or two... if that. Ameria was just deciding whether to pretend to be sick and 'accidentally' meet up with him in his room or if she should just confront him and tell him that she was mad at him, when Gourry's voice broke her out of thought.

"OOooooooiiiiii...Ameria? Ameria?" Gourry called, poking Ameria's shoulder with his index finger.

"Huh? What is it Gourry?" Ameria asked, jolting from her thoughts.

"Oh, just wondering what you were thinking so deeply about," Gourry replied, scratching his head and staring stupidly at Ameria.

"Oh, sorry! That was... nothing," Ameria searched for a quick excuse while fake laughing. Luckily, since a jellyfish would never figure out that she was making excuses, Gourry didn't either. He just sighed, flashing a wise smile. Ameria flinched. How come whenever Gourry tried his best to look wise, he always said the stupidest things? Here it comes...

"Yep. That's good. Because Lina's really worried about you, you know?" Gourry remarked cheerfully, grinning widely like a toddler. Ameria just stared at him in shock. WHAT did he just say? Did he just tell her that Lina was worried about her!

Ameria had to think this over. You never would have guessed by just look at Lina that she was worried about someone. Lina truly worried all the time, she just brushed it off with her cheerful attitude and- in desperate situations- a couple fireballs. But Ameria had been around Lina enough to know this, and had actually guessed that Lina was worrying about her. That wasn't what surprised her.

It was the fact that GOURRY knew this that did. Gourry's ability to see other people's inner feelings always surprised her. He was perhaps even better at hiding his emotions then Lina. He may be stupid when it came to things like magic and locations, but he was the most sensitive person that Ameria knew. And, of course, the casual way that Gourry always commented on serious things such as people's feelings always caught her off guard. Ameria realized once again that there was a lot more to Gourry then she thought.

I mean, all Ameria had been thinking about lately was Zelgadiss, Zelgadiss, Zelgadiss. The chimera had many interesting things about him that you would only notice if you studied him carefully. But maybe she had been neglecting Gourry and Lina? She had invested all her time in trying to open up Zelgadiss, but had taken Lina and Gourry for granted. Both of them were special to her, though she hadn't spent THAT much time with them altogether. The truth was, Ameria had really missed them, though it had only been a couple weeks since she had seen them last. Life just didn't feel right when she wasn't with the whole group.

"Yeah, Gourry-san. I'm fine," Ameria sighed in contentment, not making excuses this time. She felt all right now. She knew that Lina and Gourry were there for her no matter what.

"I'm glad to here it-" Gourry broke off as a sharp knocking sound rapped from the door. Ameria's heart began beating twice as fast, all her reasoning from just seconds ago now lost. There was a pause before the knock came again.

"Could you please get that?" Ameria requested, giving Gourry her sparkly convincing eyes. Gourry, acting a bit sharper then usual, got the hint that she was nervous about Zelgadiss, and rose to his feet. Ameria, thinking fast, slid behind the bed so she could only see a tiny bit of the door through one squinted eye. But, surprisingly, the familiar voice she heard wasn't the impatient voice of Lina or the depressed drone of Zelgadiss- it was Xelloss's voice.

"Oh my. I hope we're not interrupting anything," came the Mazoku's teasing voice.

"Uh... I don't think you are," Gourry replied stupidly, then added brightly when he noticed the person behind Xelloss, "Ah! Firia's here too." Hearing the familiar voices and names, Ameria crawled out from behind the bed and rose to her feet, greeting her friends.

"Firia-san!" She called out cheerfully, then added a bit more reluctantly, "Xelloss-san!"

"Ah! Ameria. Isn't this a surprise?" Xelloss remarked in a voice that made it hard to tell if he was pretending to be surprised or not.

"Uh... What are you guys doing here?" Gourry suddenly asked. Ah, that was right! What WERE they doing here? Ameria had been so shocked by seeing them that that thought hadn't even crossed her mind. How strange. Ameria had been expecting to just chat with Lina and Gourry for a couple hours, give them the message about Zelgadiss's cure, and then zip back to Seyruun to continue her depression. But instead she had been invited to stay with them for awhile, to meet with Zelgadiss, and NOW here were Xelloss and Firia. What were the two of them doing together anyways? Could this mean-?

"Well, stop being rude and let us in- and maybe I'll tell you," Xelloss smirked, teleported onto one of the beds. Gourry allowed Firia to come inside. Ameria stared intently at Xelloss, hoping that the explanation she would get from him would be more then 'That's a secret!'.

**End Note: **DARNIT, GOURRY! That jellyfish is so hard to write! I always make him way too stupid! Sorry about this chapter. As I said at the beginning, I'm not too happy with this chapter. It just doesn't flow very well... If I remember correctly, the next chapter turned out better. Now...

**Da Reviewers: **

_vampire cuttlefish: _They're not reunited yet. They are OFFICIALLY reunited in chapter twelve. And doujinshis? No. I don't do those anymore.

_Mistress DragonFlame: _Awwww... Hasn't Zel-kun suffered enough? Making him bed would just be... cruel.

_Yexis (your username is too long): _I don't blame you for not reviewing. Glad you liked the chappy. FLUFF? O.o I already have had OODLES of fluff! And much more is on the schedule. And whoi does everyone want Zel to suffer? Oi'm not whooping him with a Ra Tilt! He's gonna get out of this the easy way!

_Gerao-A: _Oh my. Are my cliffhangers really that bad? I have worse ones coming up !

_Maddy02: _Why is math even a subject at school? I messed up on the assignment that I redid and had to redo it again! Oh, yeah. About the rushy-ness. I'm bad with plots. I'm kind of a bad, fast plots- fluffy, slow relationships kind of person. You'll notice that all the conversations between characters will be drawn out, and all the action/ plot parts will be rushed and basically slapped sloppily together. Sorry 'bout that.


	12. Chapter 12: What's going on here?

**Beginning Note: **:doing the final proofread: Yes, yes... yes... this is pretty good... yeeeesss...yes...yes... WHA? Wow. Zelgadiss is very ooc this chapter. Oh, well. I tried. Anyways, I don't know WHAT to think of this chapter. Nothing really happens...I hope you enjoy it, though.

**Chapter 12:** What's Going on Here? You'd Better Tell the Truth!

**Disclaimer: **Would Hajime's chapters in the novels have such lame-o titles? I'l let you think about that one.

When Lina walked in to the door of the inn (without knocking, of course) she expected to see Ameria and Gourry sitting seated on the beds, maybe talking. Zelgadiss and she would join the two of them and strike up a conversation. Then, Lina would casually turn the conversation to the subject of Zelgadiss. She hoped it would only take a couple threatening stares to force Zelgadiss to apologize, but if she had to 'accidentally' hit him with a fireball, then so be it. Then, after that sissy of a chimera apologized, Lina could actually eat a meal without being sick with worry. Oh yes, there was Xelloss to worry about as well. Darn! Did she ALWAYS have something to be worrying about? Life just wasn't fair! Checking to see if Zelgadiss was still following her first, Lina advanced towards the door and without hesitation kicked it roughly open.

"HEY YOU GUYS! I'M BACK!" Lina greeted loudly, stomping into the room. After only two stomps, she stopped dead. What in the world had HAPPENED while she was gone? Xelloss- who was hovering in the air with a cup of tea, Firia and Gourry were all staring at her with shocked, clueless eyes. Okay, Lina had been expecting to see Gourry, so he was alright. Xelloss popped in once in awhile, which meant a lot of trouble- but it was still normal to see him. But Firia! NO! She lived all the way in the Outer world! AND WHERE ON EARTH WAS AMERIA, ANYWAYS?

"Gourry...?" Lina managed to groan in a strained voice, staring at Gourry with pleading eyes, begging him to explain this whole situation to her. Zelgadiss walked through the door up to Lina's side, looking slightly angry.

"Lina! I thought that you said that Ameria was here- not those guys!" Zelgadiss hissed in her ear, shooting Xelloss a hateful glare.

"I didn't invite them!" Lina protested, looking at a still-thinking Gourry.

"Uhhhh... Well... They just sort of came," Gourry explained, nodding his head wisely as he added, "Through the door."

"Exactly right," Xelloss agreed, returning Zelgadiss's glare with an innocent look.

"Lina-san! It's so nice to see you again," Firia greeted cheerfully, standing up and rushing over to Lina and Zelgadiss.

"WOULD SOMEONE EXPLAIN THIS TO ME! WHERE'S AMERIA!" Lina screamed in rage, a spell automatically revving up in her hands. Firia and Xelloss wisely decided to explain the situation to her before she got even angrier.

"It's quite simple really," Xelloss explained, hovering in the air once again and looking nervously at the spinning ball of light in Lina's hands, "I was just passing through town and I decided to stop at this inn. I could have SWORN that this was the room number that the manager gave me. I was SO surprised to see Gourry and Ameria in the room."

"Liar! You asked the manager which room Lina Inverse was staying at! I only went because you said that it would be nice to see the whole group again. Which- wait! How did you know they were all staying here?" Firia roared, her face red with rage and embarrassment.

"Xelloss?" Lina asked, raising her eyebrow suspiciously, her voice dripping with suspicion. Zelgadiss was quivering with rage as he tried to remain silent.

"I don't know what she's talking about! I met her on the way to this inn and she asked me to buy HER a room, as well. A selfish request- but I still accepted! And how does she repay me? With lies!" Xelloss protested, opening his cold, purple eyes slightly to warn Firia to be quiet. But, unfortunately, when Firia was angry- she wasn't very good at taking hints.

"Ameria-?" Zelgadiss tried to add to the conversation but was instantly overlapped by the louder members of the team.

"XELLOSS!" Firia gave a shriek of rage, unable to think of any actual comebacks in her anger. Her golden tail shot from under her dress as her anger grew.

"Ooooooh! GOURRY! Why'd you let them in!" Lina thundered.

"Well, uh... I don't know," Gourry admitted, scratching his head. Before he could add anything else, a powerful kick from Lina sent him crashing into the wall.

"Ameria-?" Zelgadiss tried again, his face blushing under the stress of the situation.

"NAMAGOMI!" Firia squealed, blindly whipping her mace through the air as she attempted to hit Xelloss.

"WATCH IT!" Lina warned as the mace missed her by inches. Zelgadiss, having not gotten his daily coffee and fed up with all the arguing, could stand it no longer.

"FLARE BIT!" Zelgadiss yelled, forming a sphere of whirling bright red light. Not wanting to cause any permanent damage, he let it then explode in his hand, sending bursts of flashing, heated light through the room. He got the exact effect that he wanted- silence. Xelloss had resumed sipping his tea, after Firia, too exhausted to even lift up her mace, had given up fighting with him. Lina blinked dumbly a couple times. This was the loudest that Zelgadiss had ever yelled. The only sounds that could be heard were weak moaning noises from Gourry as he detached himself from the wall. Zelgadiss let out a sigh of relief before continuing.

"Where is Ameria?" He asked, turning his face away from the group so they couldn't see the blush spreading across his face. But Lina saw it. She snickered evilly, realizing that she probably wouldn't have to threaten him for hours to get him to apologize to Ameria.

"Ah, Ameria?" Gourry piped up, slumped against the wall, "We only have two beds in this room so I bought another room with Lina's money. Ameria insisted on staying there right after I bought it. It's right next door."

"Oh. That was unusually smart of y- HEY! GOURRY!" Lina tried to climb over one of the beds to get at Gourry as the realization finally sunk in, chanting a fireball spell. Zelgadiss, realizing that he would be unnoticed due to all the screaming and explosions, slunk towards the still-open door and left the room.

"Gourry..." Lina hissed threateningly, panting from exhaustion after the flurry of spells she had just cast. Gourry, who lay sizzling on the floor, squirmed away from Lina until all but his head was hidden under the bed.

"I'm sorry, Linaaaa! I'll never do it again! I had no money left," Gourry whined, tears gushing comically from his eyes.

"IS THAT ANY EXCUSE?" Lina scolded, towering above him.

"Firia-san? I seem to be out of tea. Would you stop being selfish and refill my cup?" Xelloss asked calmly, thrusting his empty tea cup right under Firia's nose. He was obviously entertained by all of the negative emotions shooting around the room.

"N-NAMAGOMI! I would never serve you!" Firia growled, attempting to knock the cup from Xelloss's hands but, as usual, missing.

Lina had finally given up on tormenting Gourry. He HAD after all gotten much less then half of the bandit's treasure that they both had worked equally hard for. He had bought her an ice cream, about five dinners, AND had paid for the broken tower of plates (although that one HAD been his fault). Besides, Lina had a better idea. She could just squeeze all the money out of Ameria when she woke up the next morning. And maybe a little extra money as well... heh heh...But the biggest reason was that she was anxious to get some information out of Xelloss- besides 'That's a secret!'.

"Alright, jellyfish. Get out from under the bed," Lina sighed in exasperation, crossing her arms across chest so Gourry would no that she wasn't going to throw any unexpected spells at him.

"And you!" She added, spinning around suddenly and pointing a finger at a violent speed at Xelloss, "I want to know EVERYTHING! Got that?" Lina continued to shoot Xelloss with such a powerful glare, that even he began to feel a little bit nervous. She was going to get some answers so matter what. Her determination was so high that she didn't notice that a certain, nearly invisible chimera had slipped out of the room.

OOOOO

When Ameria had first thought of the possibility of faking sickness to avoid Zelgadiss, she had never thought that she would truly get sick just minutes later. Maybe it was all the stress that had been building up inside her lately? But whatever it was that had caused her to suddenly get sick, she felt absolutely lousy. Her stomach was twisted up in knots, a throbbing pain kept pulsing through her head in time with her heartbeat, and the back of her throat felt raw and sore. It was just a bad cold, and hopefully one that would only last for a couple days. But it was a cold still the same and Ameria didn't want to welcome Firia and Xelloss with a cold. That would just be rude.

She was lying in a large, comfy bed with layers of thick blankets covering her and a squishy pillow shielding her head from the firm mattress. Wow. This was a high quality inn room. Of course, Ameria had also noticed this earlier when she had still been feeling fine and lazing around in the other room with Gourry. Ugh. Ameria felt lousy, but not tired, and found that she could not drift off to sleep once again.

She had begun to feel faint maybe fifteen minutes after Xelloss and Firia had entered the room. Gourry had noticed that something was wrong with her, and had insisted on buying her an inn room. The rest was a just a blurred memory. She remembered tottering nearly half asleep after Gourry to the manager's desk. He had paid the money from Lina's wallet. Ameria wondered what he had been doing with LINA'S wallet. Oh yes. Lina had left her shoulder pads and cape behind in the inn room. Gourry had probably 'borrowed' it from her. It was a very unjust thing to do, but Lina stole things from Gourry constantly. After that, Ameria THOUGHT that she could remember being carried by Gourry to a dark room and being placed in a soft bed... and then maybe dozing off? That was about all.

Ameria had heard explosions and Lina's voice in the room next door just minutes earlier, but had never heard anything that sounded like Zelgadiss. Ameria sighed in disappointment. He probably wasn't coming. Lina had told Ameria that she was going to try and coax Zelgadiss to come to the inn room by telling him that they had found something that might help him out. But she had also added sorrowfully that there was a good chance that Zelgadiss wouldn't come since he was a- well... Lina had even said a couple words that Ameria had never heard. In all the days spent with Lina, Ameria had only seen her this mad a couple other times.

Ameria hoped that Lina told Zelgadiss about the sealed white magic building if he had refused to come. Sure, Ameria was extremely mad at him, and wasn't sure if she would be able to speak politely to him any longer- but she truly wanted to help him out. She had even been secretly hoping that Zelgadiss would come to join them. She loved it when the four of them were together. Just Lina, Gourry, Zelgadiss and herself. Firia and Xelloss were nice as well, but she just seemed to have a special bond with the three she had spent the most time with.

But, Zelgadiss could be weird at times. Ameria knew that he had (at least at one time) thought of the group as friends, but he had pretended that he didn't care for them- had been cold. That was just the way he was. Ameria had come to except that. It might be hard on her at times, and she might have even lost him as even a friend forever during their last argument- but she still could slightly understand why he had left Seyruun. He had a goal. Something that might not make sense to her, but it did to him. It was important to Zelgadiss, and Ameria knew that she would painfully have to let him go until he fulfilled his goal. That was just the way it would have to be if she wanted to continue being close to Zelgadiss...

"Ameria...? You awake?" The voice hoarsely whispered, a crack of light shining into the inn room as the door was open. Ameria's eyes opened and she swiftly rolled over in bed so her face was hidden, not knowing what to do. He had come, after all. Ameria couldn't believe it... Why? Ameria was touched. No matter how mad she was, she couldn't let this opportunity go...

"Z-Zelgadiss-san..."

**End Note: **OOOOOOOOH MY! I'm so cruel, huh? I stalled a whole chapter. Wow. Tee hee hee! Sorry I took a semi-y long time to update! My excuse? Math. It's all math's fault. If you want me to update faster, somehow get algebra banned from the world. Then I'll give you updates, like, everyday with no problem. But until then, just beeee patient! Now for:

**The small but happy reviewers' response section: **

_Yexis-Wexis: _This chapter was pretty baaad as well, huh? This story is headed to de downhill and, peoples. Just a warning. I hope that this was fast, fast, fast enough! But you'd better update to.

_Mistress DragonFlame: _Awwww... I would never be THAT mean to the poor couple. It takes girly little Zel long enough to gather his courage, so I couldn't possibly have Xelloss torment him, now could I?

_Gerao-A: _Oh, they'll get a chance to speak soon enough (next chapter actually! ). I just love fluff, so there will be a lot more of it to come!

_vampire cuttlefish: _Ha ha ha. You're forgiven. YOU'RE SOOOO NICE TO ME! You're really way too nice. How do you have something so nice to say every time you review? You can review as late as you want! Oh, and I found the present (as you know). It's Yamino-kun, right? Thanks sooooo much! Did I tell you how much I loved it yet? Well, I love it! It's sitting secure in my binder, all sparkly and Yamino-like.


	13. Chapter 13: The Truth is Revealed?

**Beginning Note: **Sorry, sorry, SORRY for the delay. Also sorry that this chapter is so short. But enough sorrys (not a real word). Read.

**Disclaimer: **Nope. If I owned, I'd have watched Slayers: GREAT by now. That darned disk costs a bunch. Alright, I need to shut up.

Chapter 13: The Truth is Revealed? I'm so Sorry!

Her voice didn't sound angry at him- at least not yet. Zelgadiss was surprised at this. He thought that she would have yelled at him to go away. Her voice just sounded tired and a bit sick as well. When Zelgadiss had first heard that Ameria was sick from Gourry, he was worried. Did this mean that Ameria was trying to avoid him? Zelgadiss wouldn't have blamed her if she was; he just hoped that this wasn't the case. But Ameria wasn't that kind of person.

"Yeah, it's me," Zelgadiss replied, still a bit too nervous to actually enter the room. He quickly added, "Uh... If this isn't a good time, then-"

"No!" Ameria stopped him before he could even finish his sentence. Zelgadiss flinched in surprise.

"I mean, no," Ameria repeated more quietly, finally turning around in bed so she could see him, "I'm not very sick. More tired and stressed, actually." Zelgadiss's thumping heart calmed down a little. So she wanted him to stay. That was good. Maybe she had actually forgiven him a bit. But she definitely wasn't acting like her usual self. A thick, strained atmosphere hung in the air. Ameria was waiting for him to apologize.

Not that Zelgadiss thought this was selfish of her. He knew that Ameria wanted him to apologize just so that she knew that she was actually important to him. That was okay with him. As long as he could go back to his old relationship with Ameria, he didn't mind embarrassing himself a bit. But that didn't mean he was just going to blurt out, "I'm sorry!" this very minute. That just wasn't his way of doing things. No. He would start a conversation and slowly turn it in that direction. Of course, that was easier said then done.

"Stressed, huh? You live a hard life," Zelgadiss commented, finally allowing himself to enter the room and close the door softly behind him. And it was true. Zelgadiss had at one time, actually been foolish enough to believe that Ameria had it easy.

He had noticed that she was always stupidly smiling or raving on about justice. Like she was in a fairytale or something. It was unnatural. Someone who thought that way couldn't have lived a life with much pain or sorrow. People like Ameria saw life from a sickeningly wrong perspective. They thought it was all a game. Just a board game that where you rolled the dice to see where you ended up. All happy princesses thought that way. And Ameria was much happier then even your average princess.

But he had been so wrong. It wasn't that Ameria had never heard of hardship or sadness. It was just that she chose to be happy with life no matter what it threw at her. How amazing. I mean, one bad thing had happened to him. Just one. And he had fallen to pieces, convinced that life was his enemy. It seemed that whenever Zelgadiss was around Ameria, all of his bitter feelings suddenly felt stupid. It was like he no longer knew why he was holding onto them. This was the number one reason why Zelgadiss hadn't liked Ameria when he had first met her. She made him feel uncomfortable, foolish.

"Everyone lives a hard life, Zelgadiss-san," Ameria answered, leaning against the headrest on her bed and motioning him to come further into the room so he could sit down on the end of the bed. Zelgadiss walked hesitantly over to the edge of the bed and sat down in a slumped position. Everything Ameria said was so true. But the way she had said those words... they didn't sound pessimistic at all. She had meant it more like, 'Everyone's in the same boat' kind of way.

"Yeah..." Zelgadiss agreed, not knowing what else to say. Silence filled the room. Ameria was looking at him expectantly and Zelgadiss knew what he should do. But it was so painful for him to admit that he had made the wrong choice when he had stressed over the decision for so long...

"Hey, you know..." Zelgadiss began awkwardly, gripping onto the side of the bed harshly as he struggled to find the right way to say it. There weren't too many ways to get around saying 'I'm sorry'. If he tried to point out that it had not all been his fault, then he would sound defensive, and like a jerk. But if he just remained seated on the edge of her bed like a coward, the two of them would never make up.

"It's not like... I meant for it to turn out that way," Zelgadiss started, blushing slightly. Ameria looked up at him intently, fully understanding what he was talking about. Zelgadiss continued, grateful that she hadn't asked, 'what?' or something like that.

"I thought... I thought it had been the right choice," he continued, his face turned away from hers, "I had stayed up all night thinking about it. I was sure I had it right. But... it wasn't. It turned out horrible. So, you know." He swallowed, finally bringing up enough courage to say what he had been trying to say for so long.

"I'm sorry for what happened in Seyruun."

Zelgadiss instantly slumped even lower, breathing heavily with relief. That had felt great. Now he felt as if the whole thing was over. He felt like he no longer had to be guilty about all the tears that Ameria had shed. And that Ameria knew once again that he cared about her and wanted to spend time with her. Zelgadiss had apologized many times before to everyone in the group he traveled with, but he had never truly, TRULY meant it. But this time he had meant it entirely. Leaving Ameria in such a harsh way had been the cruelest thing he had ever done, and Zelgadiss had been feeling sorry ever since it had happened.

"I'm sorry to. I asked too much of you to stay," Ameria responded. This surprised Zelgadiss. AMERIA was sorry. But she hadn't done anything wrong. This had been his fault. All Ameria had done was ask something very reasonable of him.

"You don't need to-" Zelgadiss began, his face still turned away from Ameria, when something made him stop. He felt Ameria's hand reach out and grab his own. What a warm feeling. He felt blush spread across his face, but didn't jerk his hand away like he normally would. No. Not this time.

"Hey, Zelgadiss-san?" Ameria asked softly, with her hand still set gently on his.

"Huh?" Zelgadiss responded, his face still red with blush. Lina had said once that he could blush longer and harder then anyone she knew.

"Wanna know why I asked Lina to bring you here?" Ameria asked brightly, the serious tone of her voice replaced by the immature one that the little kid in her still had. She quickly took her hand off Zelgadiss's and reached under her pillow.

"Uh... I guess so," Zelgadiss replied nervously. That was right. Lina had told him that Ameria wanted to show him something. He smiled, blowing out a long breath of relief. Maybe he should ignore his pride and apologize more often...

OOOOOO

"Now, that's a secret!" Xelloss sung, smiling at a now fuming Lina.

"Xelloss..." She hissed in a low, menacing voice, clenching one of her gloved hands into a quivering fist. Xelloss just grinned mischievously, staring at Lina through the slits of his purple eyes. Gourry sat next to Lina on one of the beds, a clueless jellyfish expression on his face. Lina had told Xelloss about the journey for Zel's cure that they were planning on taking, hoping that it would bribe him to tell her what he was planning. Obviously she had been wrong. Lina let her fist relax, realizing that after asking Xelloss what he was up to twenty-five times and getting no answer, that she would probably never find out from the mysterious priest himself. Which was where Firia came in.

"Firia..." Lina growled at the dragon priestess, shooting her a killer glare.

"I don't know anything. That namagomi dragged me along on this trip without telling me what slimy work he was up to," Firia replied simply, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the hovering Xelloss.

"Xelloss! Whenever you come along, my troubles always double!" Lina whined, flopping backwards so she was lying on the bed.

"That rhymes!" Gourry exclaimed brightly. Lina promptly kicked him off the bed into a sprawling heap on the floor.

"Xelloss! If you don't want to die, then you'd better tell me what you're up to!" Lina threatened, positioning her hands in spell casting mode.

"Oh my! I'm afraid I can't tell you anything just yet. How about this: I give you a little, itty bitty HINT of what I'm going to do?" Xelloss bargained, waggling his finger in a very irritating way. Lina sighed, giving in to Xelloss's bargain. A hint was better then nothing, especially from a trickster like Xelloss.

"Fair enough."

"Well," Xelloss began, hovering through the air so he was just inches away from Lina's face, "It doesn't involve killing you this time. At least not yet."

"Not yet? Urrrgh! Xelloss!" Lina growled, throwing a punch through the air. Xelloss teleported across the room next to Firia. Lina didn't even think about believing his innocent act. Behind those closed eyes were the violent eyes of a killer. Whenever Xelloss followed Lina around, he always seemed to want to kill her. That priest was so irritating at times... At least they had worked out somewhat of a friendship. Lina would put up with all his junk until he decided to kill her. Then she would fight him unfairly if she had to until he switched back to her side. A risky kind of relationship, but not unusual for a Mazoku.

"So, I'm guessing you want to follow us around for a while?" Lina replied, sighing.

"Of course. And Firia will be coming as well," Xelloss responded brightly, gesturing to the still-pouting dragon. Hearing her name, she was jerked into attention.

"ME! Namagomi! I want nothing more to do with this mess you've caused," Firia snorted, turning her head away from Xelloss.

"But Firia-san! It's for the good of our dear Zelga-bunny," Xelloss replied with a smirk, "Don't tell me you don't care about what happens to him!"

"Well...uh..." Firia stammered, obviously being manipulated. Lina didn't object to this. If Firia came she could help keep Xelloss in line- a nearly impossible task.

"Besides..." Lina added with an evil gleam in her eye, "There might be some treasure involved. And I've heard that your jar shop isn't doing very well..."

"But I..." Firia protested, but then stopped. There was no reason for her NOT to come. And she could use any money she could find. "Oh fine."

"Then I guess that all of us are going to be together again!" Gourry commented, rising from his awkward position on the floor.

"That's right!" Lina yelled, pumping her fist into the air as she grew more excited, "It's time for another adventure!"

**End Note: **Sorry for the wait. I had to work on a special Halloween fic. I'm also making one for Thanksgiving and Christmas- so I'll be slower around those times as well. About this chapter... Well, I personally like it. I guess that that means that no one else will, but I actually like this chapter for once. Ha ha... So anyways, the story's finally into the main plot- and it's already more then a third over. Strange-ness. There will be more fluff to come as well (and the next chapter will hopefully be longer then this dinky one). Now...

**Reviewers: **

_vampire cuttlefish: _Sorry! I never find your surprises! I couldn't find Kankurou either. I'm such an idiot. ANYWAYS, I'm glad you liked it. This chapter wasn't really a cliffy, was it?

_Mistress DragonFlame: _Ah! Bad word alert! Alright, I once again need to shut up with all the unneeded comments. Tee hee! Cliff hangers are fun to right and awful to read.

_Maddy02: _I'm so bad at making Zel suffer. I just love him too much (2nd favorite character). I kind of let him off easy, huh? I'm being a slow updater, ain't I? Hee hee heeeee. Sorry.

_Gerao-A: _Slayers style? Me? W-what a nice compliment... sniff... I hope I updated fast enough...

_Motokonobaka: _Was it really THAT evil? Dang it. I have worse ones coming up... Ha ha

Anyone who I missed can run me over with a lawn mower yadda yadda yadda... yeah. I've been having a real problem with babbling too much lately. It's been freaking people out. Shut up, me!

I'll update faster next time. Next chapter: The adventure begins!


	14. Chapter 14: ALL RIGHT! A New Journey!

**Beginning Note: **SQUEEEEEEEEE! I'm starting to collect Lost Universe. I can't wait to watch it. Oh, and I'm still going through that 'idiot-phase' of my life. Beware the annoying comments. Anyways, I wasn't too slow this time, was I? I hope not I tried to update fast! Without further ado...

**Disclaimer: **I DO NOT OWN SLAYERS... But... pleeeease let me tell you a really quick story before you read this delicious chapter of Stone Cold? Please? Okay... I art class I made this CREEPY Zelgadiss mask with LIPS! I'm scared to look at it and i think I'm going to get a bad grade on it! Seriously, it could scare little children! Alright, I'm done.

Chapter 14: ALL RIGHT! A New Journey has Begun!

After deciding that Firia and Xelloss would be coming along on the journey, the night had been far from over. All six of the old friends had met in one of the inn rooms and talked for a long time about the trip that was lying ahead of them, well into the night. Zelgadiss had mentally admitted to himself that the book's contents sounded too good to be true. Since when did deserted white magic buildings just appear into thin air? And how come he hadn't heard or read anything about this before? Surely this same information would have turned up SOMEWHERE. And why was it in a normal-looking but ancient book of white magic history? Zelgadiss couldn't understand it. But, oh well. It was worth a shot.

Anyways, the book hadn't given many details about the location. Just the general area- which was out in the middle of nowhere. But Lina, having explored many parts of the world, insisted that if they wouldn't have much of a problem finding the area. Zelgadiss was fairly confident with his knowledge of the world as well, but decided to leave all the finding up to Lina since she loved to be in charge.

The LEGNTH of the trip wouldn't be a problem, since it was actually pretty close to the area they were in. But the main thing that caused the twisted, nervous feeling in the pit of Zelgadiss's stomach was the fact that everyone who had tried to get in had died. Why was that?

Zelgadiss tried not to think too much about it. Morning light was just beginning to shine through the windows of his inn room (which he was sharing with Gourry). In just a couple hours, all six of them would be on the road. Zelgadiss really had no idea what to expect. After all, Xelloss had agreed to actually TRAVEL with all of them for most of the trip. He usually just hung around sometimes and ditched them other times. What could that Mazoku be up to? It didn't matter. They would most likely find out soon enough.

Zelgadiss felt shivers coursing through his body, and it wasn't because the blankets on his bed were paper-thin. He was nervous about whether the cure would be found or not. An annoying voice in his head told him that they definitely wouldn't- and he had to agree with it. There was just too thin of a chance. White magic was such a broad topic...

Ugh. Why was he always thinking so negatively? People like Ameria who always looked at the bright side used to make him feel sick. But now... now Zelgadiss just wished that he was more like Ameria. If he could just convince himself that he would find a cure soon.

Zelgadiss sighed, drawing the blankets closer to his body. He could hear Gourry snoring softly, and wished he could be sleeping as well. No sleep meant that he would be in a grouchy mood all day. And Ameria would get at him for pouting. Aaaaagh... Zelgadiss half-wished that he could travel alone. But no. The horrible lonely feeling that had spread throughout his body just a few days ago had been too much. Zelgadiss knew deep inside that he truly wanted to travel in a group. Maybe just not with XELLOSS though... With Lina's yelling, Gourry's brainless comments, Firia's outbursts, AND Xelloss's pranks, Zelgadiss wasn't sure how he would survive. And Ameria? She was okay. She hardly ever shot off onto one of those justice speeches- and when she did Zelgadiss got the satisfaction of watching Xelloss's reaction.

Yeah... this journey seemed as if it would be better for him, socially. Besides, Zelgadiss felt as if he had to make it up to Ameria. Sure, he had said sorry. It had been hard for him, too. But it hadn't been enough. He had to show Ameria that he wouldn't treat her like that again. So he was going to try and get along with everyone, not sulk so much. After all, she had continued searching for a cure for him even AFTER he had treated her so harshly. Since when did anyone care about him that much?

Zelgadiss squinted as the morning light brightened through the half-open green curtains. Lina would probably be awake soon. She would wake everyone up with yelling like always. And where were Xelloss and Firia anyways? The last Zelgadiss had seen of them had been was at the end of their nighttime conference. The two of them had left... to another inn or something. Oh wait. The other inn was just a pile of blackened ash. So that meant that XELLOSS was somewhere in this inn! The thought of that made him shiver in disgust. And worry about the girls a bit.

Fed up with lying in bed for so long, Zelgadiss quietly pulled the covers from his body and sat dangling his legs from the edge of the bed. He was met with an unpleasant rush of cold air. Sheesh. It was freezing! Zelgadiss blinked his showing eye sleepily, rubbing warmth onto his hands and arms briskly. He decided to get fully dressed in his usual clothes and cape to warm himself up. Right now he was only wearing a loose, pale gray outfit. No wonder he was cold! The shirt was short-sleeved.

Stumbling clumsily from his bed, Zelgadiss made his way over to the tiny closet that allowed them a bit of storage. He opened the sliding door and was greeted with his light tan clothes hanging neatly in the closet- and Gourry's normal blue outfit tossed sloppily all over the bottom of the closet. Urrrgh... Gourry... Zelgadiss kicked Gourry's clothes out of the way. Lina was rubbing off on Gourry. The swordsman had never left his clothes just thrown on the ground a few years ago when he and Zelgadiss had first begun sharing inn rooms. Zelgadiss reached above his head and pulled the folds of hanging clothes down into his arms. He was just beginning to remove his loose shirt when the door to the inn room was thrown violently open.

"OIIIIIII! LAZIES! GET UP!" Lina's fully-awake voice echoed through the entire room. Zelgadiss flinched and clapped a hand over his ear that was closest to the door. Lina had gotten up a bit earlier then he had thought. She must have been anxious. He could hear Lina stomping down the hallway- to yell at Xelloss, probably.

Gourry groaned in exhaustion, stretching one of his arms above his head. He was mumbling some sort of gibberish. Zelgadiss closed the door to the inn room and continued changing. In a minute or so, he was all ready to go. Gourry was just truly waking up, rubbing his sleep-filled eyes gingerly with his fists. As anxious to get going as Lina, Zelgadiss left the room at a brisk pace, hoping to also settle Lina down before she got them kicked out of the inn.

OOOOOOO

Unable to sleep, Firia and Ameria had been spending breakfast together in the café that was joined with the inn. They had been hoping to have a peaceful chat together, being the two most girlish members of the current team. But unfortunately, a trickster of a priest had shown up almost right away to crash their peace. He was floating above the table, sipping tea and infuriating Firia. Ameria was getting tempted to try to 'Life is wonderful' strategy, but was afraid that Xelloss would fall right and top of their table and attract a lot of unneeded attention. So, instead, she had silently warned Firia to put up with him. He was acting a bit better then normal, after all.

"So, Firia-san... Are you looking forward to this trip?" Ameria asked, glaring dangerously at Xelloss as she tried to make her voice sound normal. The flowery, pink teacup in Firia's hand was shaking so hard that Ameria was sure that Firia was going to spill tea everywhere.

"Well..." Firia fought to keep her voice steady and calm, "Everything except spending all day with a certain... namagomi..." Her voice broke off and she began to squeeze the handle of her teacup so hard that Ameria was sure it was going to break any second.

"Oh? And who would that namagomi be?" Xelloss sipped at his tea, using his annoyingly innocent tone of voice once again.

"Now, now Firia-san!" Ameria stammered nervously, fearing a rabid mace attack, "Calm down..."

"Yes, Firia-san, calm down," Xelloss teased, the negative emotions steaming from her like a boiling teakettle providing him with pleasure. Firia's face turned a furious shade of red and her golden tail shot from underneath her dress. She was one step away from 'macing' the area.

"Xelloss..." Ameria hissed, deciding to risk the whole 'Life is wonderful' thing. She was just sucking in a deep breath to begin a string of justice-y and wonderful things, when...

"XELLOSS! WHERE ARE YOU!" Lina's voice blasted through just about everywhere in the inn. The force of the sound made Xelloss, Firia's and Ameria's hair blow backward. It even looked as if the glass in the area would crack in a second (luckily, it didn't).

"Um... Xelloss-san. I think that Lina-san is calling you," Ameria flashed him a triumphant smile, glad that he had a reason to stop pestering them.

"And she sounds angry," added Firia, looking just as victorious. Xelloss shot them an icy glare, his eyes half open. This quieted the girls down instantly.

"Lina-san's just upset because I've been purposely hiding from her all morning. She's been trying to find me to pry out secrets from me most likely. Or something like that," Xelloss muttered, a bitter look on his face.

"I might as well listen to her before she explodes the place. Maybe tease her a bit to make the most of the situation." His discouraged face was replaced with his usual grin, and with that, the priest teleported away. Firia let out a sigh of relief and exhaustion, allowing her tail to fade away. Ameria also sighed with relief, but because of Firia, not Xelloss. Ameria had never felt exceptionally close to Firia- at least not like she was with the others. When someone had a temper like Firia's, Ameria tried to avoid them as politely as possible (except for Lina, of course, who made herself unavoidable).

"If Lina-san is awake, then that means that we will probably be leaving fairly soon," Ameria remarked, butterflies beginning to flutter in her stomach. She always got a tiny bit nervous before the group left on a new adventure. Simply because LINA was involved. And Lina's middle name was 'violence'. Or maybe 'trouble'? Or maybe just 'pitifully selfish'?

"Oh. We'd better make sure we have our little amount of supplies ready to go," She added. This time, Ameria had made sure to hide her Seyruun crest securely in her coin pouch, and had even gone as far as using an improvised version of the barrier spell on the crest so Lina couldn't get a hold of it easily. When Phil had seen the bill last time... ugh. It had been horrible. Ameria never wanted to repeat that nightmare. Lina spent money without hesitation when it wasn't her own.

"I hope that Valgaav doesn't hatch while we're on the trip. I don't want any Mazoku germs rubbing off on him," Firia muttered while Ameria dug through the contents of her coin pouch. Oh yes, that was right. Firia had brought Valgaav along on the trip. She had mentioned that sometime earlier this morning.

"AMERIA. FIRIA! WE'RE ALL WAITING ON YOU!" Lina's voice screeched through the area once again.

"Oh, shoot! We'd better get over to her room number before she explodes the place," Ameria exclaimed, scampering out of the café's door. Lina was probably even more upset since Xelloss had mentioned teasing her. But, just think- in just a few minutes, they would be traveling to a source that just might be Zelgadiss's cure.

**End Note: **Eh-heh... this chapter? Well, I dunno. I think it turned out okay. Kind of on the boring side, right? But I felt like I couldn't just plunge into the journey after chapter 12, so I added this one. My self esteem awful. I need to listen to the Standing Tall tape with the parrot. RAAAAWK! YOUR BEST FRIEND IS YOURSELF! RAAAAAAWK! Who's listened to the Standing Tall tapes? I listened to them when I was a kid. They messed up my life, darn it! Okay, okay, I'll stop and leave you in peace to read the...

**Response to Reviewers: **

_vampire cuttlefish: _'Burger-flipping'? Yep. I'd have to say that lack of intelligence runs in this family. I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Anyways, thanks for the nice compliments- and I've already explained to you that Ameria 'gave' Zelgadiss the information in her white magic book.

_Gerao-A: _Well, technically, I don't have Slayers: GREAT yet. I'm getting it for Christmas. SQUEEE! Sorry, Naga will not be in this fic. I TRIED to squeeze her in somehow, seriously, but I couldn't. I'll try and make a fic with Naga in it later on... But I need to study her character more first- and right now I'm focusing all my attention on studying Rezo's character.

_Mistress DragonFlame: _Fair enough.

_Maddy02: _No complaining! YAY! I'm glad that you like all of my chapters. I seem to hate almost all of them. It's those self-esteem issues! ACK! Glad that you liked Ameria's advice- I thought it was corny so it's good to hear that others like it.

_Motokonobaka: _That meanie Xelloss. He manages to upset just about anyone. I wonder if Xelloss could make NAGA upset. Now, THAT would be interesting...

_Yexis: _Fragment sentences! I love those little guys. Except Mrs. Molina doesn't... sadness... This was a short little chapter, huh? And w/e... DARN THOSE w/e's! I'll burn them along with your inner demon- and on the fire I shall roast marshmallows! Oh, and update YOUR story soon, 'kay?

_Ahria: _Glad that I have kept your interest!

The reviewer section got long again! Yay! Let's KEEP it long, folks (Hint Hint). Up Next: The adventure FINALLY starts, though it's still just a mixture of conversations. We have a conversation between: Lina and Xelloss AND Zel and Ameria. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	15. Chapter 15: Trickster and Chimera

**Beginning Note: **Awwww... sorry. I've been a little lazy lately. I tried to write as fast as I could, but I still made you wait for a long time. Sorry, sorry, sorry. Anyways... about this chapter... ehhhh... I'm not sure whether I like it or hate it. But its got a bit of fluff in it! Yay? It's also got corny un-goodness, so beware. Here's the chappy. I hope you enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **Uh-oh! It's another corny title, as well as proof that I'm not the owner of slayers.

Chapter 15: Talk with a trickster and a Chimera

Lately, Lina's life had seemed to be just a jumble of emotions, so it was a relief for her to be back in the worry-free, traveling life style. Ameria seemed to be doing much better now that she was with the whole group, and this took a huge burden from Lina's shoulders. There was still Xelloss to worry about- but she had decided to cross that bridge when she came to it. So Lina focused one hundred percent of her attention on helping Zelgadiss search for his cure.

Right at this moment, they were just hours away from the next town, all six them traveling together in one big group. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits, except Zelgadiss. Ameria, strangely, wasn't sticking close to Zelgadiss. But Lina didn't think it was because she was still mad at him. Ameria kept glancing back at him, her cheeks pink. No, it wasn't anger- she was just beginning to become a bit shy around him. This was strange behavior for the outgoing princess to be showing, since she had always broke the ice blocking friendships fairly quickly. Lina guessed that a page had been turned in Ameria and Zelgadiss's relationship- making them both closer and farther away from one another.

Oh well, they would work it out sometime soon. Ameria just wasn't very good at avoiding others. Gourry traveled up front near Lina, but he didn't seem to be in the mood for talking. Lina wasn't concerned. All of them were a bit nervous about starting off on a new journey. A life threatening journey. But of course, Xelloss wasn't worried a bit. He hung back with Firia and Zelgadiss, and was constantly talking about who knows what. Everyone else ignored him.

Once in awhile, he would teleport up next to Lina to try and bug her, but she always ignored him. Lina had learned that if Xelloss didn't get the attention he wanted, he would give up on the teasing. All in all, it had been a pretty good day's worth of traveling. Not stressful, and no sign of danger just yet. And it looked as if they would reach a town just before dark. That meant warm beds and good food for the night. That was the best news yet! Lina knew that she would have to put up with bread or fish for a few weeks, but she wanted to put that off for as long as possible.

Lina broke out of her thoughts and began to listen in on other's conversations, hoping for a chance to join one of them. Xelloss and Firia seemed to be in some sort of argument which was, luckily, pretty quiet. What was it they were arguing about? Whatever it was it sounded stupid, since Zel kept on groaning at them to keep it down. Lina wouldn't join that pointless argument unless she was at least ten times more bored then she was now. Gourry and Ameria had been chatting about something earlier, but it seemed that they had both broken from the conversation and were now traveling in silence. Maybe she could start a conversation with one of th-

"Lina?"

Lina whirled around to find Xelloss hovering right behind her. She nearly fell over in surprise. Oh, why hadn't she gotten used to all of Xelloss's habits yet? She always seemed to respond with the exact reaction he wanted, which made her even more frustrated with him.

"Xelloss! I thought you were arguing about... something..." Lina broke off, staring angrily at the trail twisting ahead, rather then at the priest himself.

"Oh! That was about whether her mace looked best when it was freshly polished, or when it had the natural, worn look. I let her win," Xelloss explained carelessly. THIS caught Lina's attention! She took her gaze off of the road to gape at him.

"NO WAY! You let FIRIA win one of your arguments!" Lina shouted, just managing to keep walking down the road. She wanted to get to the town, and she didn't want Xelloss's tricks to slow everyone down.

"It was more of a 'boredom' argument then one of our serious ones," Xelloss remarked, raising his eyebrow, "It wasn't like I was giving in my pride as a Mazoku."

"Still," Lina muttered, trying to stifle her irritation, "you did let FIRIA win..." How come whenever Xelloss was around she felt so IRRITATED! He always made the air around her feel like it was ten times heavier then it really was. And he had been acting so weird lately... Lina felt as if all she had been thinking about lately was Xelloss and what sorts of junk he was planning. But if she let her negative emotions run wild, she'd just be giving Xelloss what he wanted.

"It's been getting boring lately... Firia-san hasn't been putting enough passion into the arguing," Xelloss chuckled, "I'd much rather pester someone with the temper of a sunburned troll!" Lina was about to yell at him, but then bit her lip, deciding that she didn't want to prove his insult correct.

"If you want my negative emotions, then why don't you just stop all that secret junk and tell me what you're up to!" Lina growled, a threatening gleam in her eyes, "That would most likely make me pretty angry. Whatever it is, it's got to be twisted and insane..."

"But Lina-san," Xelloss protested, smirking teasingly, "I already gave you a little hint. It doesn't involve killing you."

"Yet?" Lina questioned, fixing him with an icy stare. She wanted to squeeze as much information from him as possible, but Xelloss was too smart to answer her questions.

"Lina-san, you're going to trip over a lose rock if you glare at me and walk at the same time," the trickster skillfully dodged the subject, opening his eyes just slightly. Lina's eyes shot back to the center of the path, taking Xelloss's warning.

"Hmmmp. I guess I'll know what you're up to soon enough," Lina murmured, trying to press this point into her brain. But no matter how many times she told herself this, she still had a churning feeling deep within her stomach.

"Oh, I doubt it. You're just my pawns once again; so you'll never learn the king's plans," Xelloss added, waggling his finger back and forth as he continued to avoid eye contact with Lina. Or was she the one avoiding his eyes?

"And what if the pawns don't do what the king wants?" Lina questioned, wondering how he would answer.

"If the pawns don't know HOW the king wants them to play- then the pawns won't possibly be able to purposely mess up the king's plans," Xelloss concluded, obviously bored of the conversation. His body disappeared as he teleported from the area. Lina let out a breath of relief, glad that the heavy atmosphere was gone- but then sucked the breath back in as an obviously not finished Xelloss added one more thing.

"Oh, and Lina? I don't think you need to worry about any of you or your friends dying... I'm up to nothing that large or amazing."

Xelloss's voice faded away and Lina glanced over her shoulder to see him reappear next to Firia. That was funny. It seemed as if Xelloss had given pieces of his plans away, yet she felt so much more confused then before. How was he using them? And... was he telling her the truth when he said that he wasn't up to something large this time? All that Lina knew was that she was glad that all her friends were nearby- and that she, herself, would have Gourry to spill her worries on this time. Even the leader of a group needed someone like Gourry who would listen and respond in such comforting ways... It wasn't until a few seconds later that Lina became aware that her hand was trembling, and beads of sweat were lining her forehead...

OOOOOO

Another hour past at that town just seemed to be minutes away. Of course it was still really hours away, but everyone's spirits were high. Except for Lina's (And, of course, Zelgadiss's). Ameria had noticed that Lina suddenly seemed to be scared or something, because she only stared at the ground and had said nothing about her excitement about the coming town. No one else had seemed to notice, except for maybe Gourry. He had cast a nervous and concerned glance at Lina before continuing his conversation with Firia. Ameria guessed that he thought that Lina would fireball him if she truly was in a bad mood. Lina just didn't like depending on anyone... kind of like Zelgadiss...

Ameria purposely dragged her steps so Zelgadiss caught up to her. Since Firia had raised her pace in order to have a conversation with Gourry, Zelgadiss had been left all by himself in the back of the group- and he looked on the verge of brooding again. Though Ameria felt awkward whenever she even got near him, she knew that someone had to cheer him up.

"Zelgadiss-san?" Hearing his name, Zelgadiss broke his focus on the ground and turned his head slightly to look at the figure beside him.

"Hmmm?" Yep. His voice definitely sounded gloomy. Ameria wondered what could have suddenly made him upset again. He had seemed fine yesterday. Anxious and maybe even a bit happy. But now he seemed to have doubts on his mind or something once again.

"If you don't walk faster Lina might decide to leave you in the dust," Ameria tried to take the light-hearted approach to start a conversation. Zelgadiss was unaffected by her words.

"That so?"

"Well...Hey, just think. In just about an hour, you'll get to have some coffee," Ameria tried again, slightly discouraged by his attitude.

"Hmmmm. Interesting."

"You don't sound interested."

"Ameria."

"What?" Ameria could feel her temper rising slightly. She always tried her best to cheer him up, and he managed to shake her off every time. Ameria had thought that he had gotten over all of his negative emotions when she had told him about the clues leading to what might end up to be a cure.

"Just... Couldn't you leave me alone?" Zelgadiss sighed, his voice sounding heavy and tired. His eyes were shut and he seemed to be irritated by the sound of her voice.

This caught Ameria off guard. There he went, saying stuff like that again. He had apologized for the things he had said in Seyruun- and Ameria had forgiven him, despite the amount hurt they had caused her. But now here he went, just a day later- saying those things again. Maybe she shouldn't have been so prompt to forgive him. Maybe she should have refused his apologies for a little while to make him realize how cruel he had been. Ameria was about to open her mouth to give him a piece of her mind, when Zelgadiss spoke again, correcting himself.

"No. That's not what I mean..." He opened his eyes again, shaking his head. Ameria shut her mouth and continued to curiously listen to him.

"It's just- I've just been-Sorry, alright? I'm already making the same mistakes again," Zelgadiss stammered, not making that much sense. Ameria could sense a truly apologetic tone to his voice, and decided to listen to him rather then lecture him at this moment.

"I've got things on my mind. Thanks for trying to cheer me up," Zelgadiss continued, looking her in the eyes to prove that he was serious. Ameria felt the awkwardness that had been hanging around her earlier return again and her cheeks turned slightly pink. All she could do was nod.

"I'll try to stop making you worry," Zelgadiss added, and made his best attempt to smile. The smile looked awkward and forced, but at least Ameria could see in his eyes that he was feeling a bit better.

"I won't force you to tell me what's wrong, just try your best to cheer up," Ameria replied, giving him a shy smile. Zelgadiss's cheeks were the ones to turn pink this time and he turned his face slightly away. It looked as if he wanted to say something, but before he could get the words out-

"Oh my. I hope that you know that the pair of you are slowing us down. Could you pick a better time for this?" Xelloss's irritating voice sung just inches away from them as the priest suddenly appeared just inches from Ameria's face.

Both Ameria's and Zelgadiss's faces turned bright red simultaneously. Xelloss teleported away and rejoined the middle of the group, choosing to pick on Firia in some twisted way this time. The blushing couple completely stopped walking for a few pressured seconds before truly reacting to the comment.

"X-XELLOSS!" Zelgadiss roared, charging forward to catch up with the group. He seemed to have temporarily forgotten whatever it was that had been bugging him. Ameria jogged after him, her cheeks still hinting pink. Well, she wouldn't lecture him just yet. At least he was making progress... But what was bugging him?

**End Note: **Good? Bad? Short? Long? Corny? Fluffy? Sorry about the quality of this chapter- and the amount of time it took to post. I THINK that the next chapter will be better. I HOPE at least (y'know... I think that I say these too sentences every chapter...) Anyways, enough of that (I think this sentence appears every chapter as well.). Time for:

**Ye Olde Reviewer's section: **

_Gerao-A: _Naga? Hot? Okay then... That's a little creepy. But I'm a girl so how would I know... Anyways, I can't wait to watch Slayers:GREAT.

_Maddy02: _Awww... I'm glad you liked it. That makes me feel fuzzy. I don't know if Ameria will ever sing Life is Wonderful in this fic. I'll try to work it in somehow, though, because I love that song. This chapter was a little fluffy, right? And in a couple chapters I have a chapter schedules that's solid ZA, so yay!

_Yexis: _I have better things to do then IM. Like, watch Full moon wo Sagashite, for instance (By the way, I'm NEVER letting you see this story! MWAHAHAHAH!). AAAAAAAHHHHH! Critiques! RUN FOR DA HILLS! Anyways, I'm not sure if the dash works on fanfiction. Net or not, but there was supposed to be a dash in that sentence. Sorry you got confused. Okay, I don't mind if you think that someone is OOC, but could you give me a reason or two next time. I don't like to hear that something was wrong with their writing 'for some odd reason'. I need a reason so I can FIX the problem. Anyways, you didn't discourage me and thanks for reviewing!

_vampire cuttlefish: _Awwwww::hugs back: I have Full moon fuzzies thanks to what you said. Thanks for being so nice. :Gets out a fire extinguisher and uses it on Nan-Chan so she gets all better:

_Mistress DragonFlame: _Awww... that's such a good idea. I want to use it, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to work it in, considering that the group doesn't spend that much time in inns for the rest of this fic. Maybe I could make a oneshot or add a chapter...hm... because I need another moment of fluff and this might just work. Thanks for the suggestion.

_Motokonobaka: _Ughhhh...it would be awful if Xelloss and Naga united. I actually have this one REALLY old fic that I never posted and it's only half finished where that happened. Firia, Xelloss, and Naga all formed a group of evil villains. Gosh, it was creepy. Naga's laugh just about made Zel go deaf.

_Dar Sel'La: _Ha ha ha... It took Phibrizzo nearly killing all of Lina's friends to force Lina to use the Giga Slave, but what if Xelloss made Lina use to Giga Slave simply by annoying her until she went crazy? Phewf...Thanks for the nice compliment.

Next chapter will have... a conversation between Firia and Zelgadiss, and Ameria and Lina. I won't take so long this time, I promise!


	16. Chapter 16: Dinner and Friends

**Beginning Note: **AAAAAAAUUUUGGHHHH! SORRY! SORRY! I'M SOOOOOOOO SORRY! ...whew... That felt good to get out of my system. Anyways, I gave my self an extended Thanksgiving vacation and morphed into a complete slacker. But that's not the only reason why this chapter is late.

I'm hitting some roadblocks thanks to someone named REZO! Oh well. I guess I shouldn't have assumed that the road to ending-a-long-fanfic land would be easy. Anyways, I'm really sorry for the VERY late chapter and I'll try not to be so lazy next time. Here's the chapter:

**Disclaimer: **I think I should stop posting these every chapter. Aw well. I do not own Slayers and...bleeegh... I'm so tired...

**Chapter 16: Dinner and Friends**

"Gourry! That was mine!"

"Then you should have eaten it while you had the chance!"

"Both of you are being so unjust! With the help of the justice burning in my heart, I will make that meat mine!"

Zelgadiss watched the squabbling group and sweat-dropped. He had been hoping to have a quiet conversation with Ameria over a cup of tea... or something like that. But once again, Ameria had joined in the food fight and was acting as much like an animal as Gourry and Lina. Such madness... It was only food, not an ultra-rare, one-of-a-kind treasure or something. The more Zelgadiss traveled with them, the more like animals they seemed to get.

He tried to ignore them and sip at his coffee in peace, but when half of a plate flew by his face at nearly eighty miles an hour, Zelgadiss decided to move farther away from the group. Not only to avoid injury, but also to avoid embarrassment. It made him feel nervous and awkward when people stared at the screaming and fighting people at his table. There was a screeching scrape as Zelgadiss pushed his chair away from the table and stood up. Carrying his coffee with him, Zelgadiss scanned the room for an empty table. But every single one seemed to have at least one person sitting at it. Zelgadiss sighed.

His eyes lit up when he noticed that Firia was one of the people who was sitting alone at a table. When she hadn't shown up at the restaurant, Zelgadiss had assumed that she had gone with Xelloss to some other place. But it seemed as if Firia had really been with them the whole time, just also embarrassed by the group's behavior. Though Zelgadiss wasn't exactly comfortable with Firia's company, he decided that she would be better then hanging around at the wild-animal-table. Zelgadiss made his way across the restaurant, and sat across the table from Firia. She looked up from her teacup, hearing the noise Zelgadiss made as he sat down.

"Ah, Zelgadiss," Firia greeted, and then turned her attention back on her cup of tea. Zelgadiss sat in silence for a few minutes, but then decided to make the most out of the situation and get a bit of information.

"Firia?" He asked, getting her attention. The priestess snapped from her thoughts when she heard his voice, nearly spilling her tea.

"Yes?" Firia responded quickly, directing her attention at Zelgadiss. Zelgadiss considered starting off the conversation in an impolite way by asking exactly what he wanted to know, but decided to start off in a way that was slightly more casual.

"So, any idea where Xelloss went?" Zelgadiss asked, signaling the closest waiter that he wanted a refill.

"I have no idea where he went! I don't stalk NAMAGOMI for a hobby, you know," Firia growled indignantly, her grip on the teacup handle so tight that Zelgadiss was sure that she would break it. Uhhh... maybe it had been a mistake to ask Firia about Xelloss...Zelgadiss tried to quickly recover the conversation.

"Okay, okay! I just have something I want to ask you," Zelgadiss assured her, holding up his hands defensively just in case she tried to take a swing at him with that mace. It would send him through the roof if it made contact.

"It had better not have ANYTHING to do with... that namagomi," Firia spat, fixing Zelgadiss with a deadly glare. Zelgadiss nervously coughed into his fist, realizing what thin ice he was on. He had to be careful not to even mention Xelloss's name if he wanted to live through the conversation.

"I was just wondering..." Zelgadiss began, but broke off soon afterwards. It was hard to concentrate when two flashing red eyes were burning through your brain.

"Yesssssssss?" Firia hissed, drawing out the 's' dangerously long. Zelgadiss gulped uncomfortably before blurting out all he wanted to say.

"Well, actually...uhhh... The info given to all of us from Ameria is a little bit suspicious. Being a priestess and all- did you ever hear anything about it? ANYTHING?" Zelgadiss managed to stammer, hoping that Firia would calm down. Luckily, she did. Her eyes cooled down to their normal colors and she relaxed her crushing grip on the handle of the tea cup. Zelgadiss was going to let out a sigh of relief, when he thought that Firia might be offended and held it in.

"Well..." Firia hummed, tapping the table with her fingers as she thought. Zelgadiss waited patiently for an answer.

"I don't think so..." Firia finally concluded, taking another sip of tea. Zelgadiss was absorbed by a gloom cloud. Not that he had been EXPECTING her to know anything. She lived in the Outer World, for crying out loud! Just... there was always a little chance...Oh. Why did he always have such miserable luck?

"Oh! There was this one place we learned about..." Firia recalled, smacking her fist into her palm. Zelgadiss almost knocked over the table.

"Yes? YES?" He gasped, hanging onto her every movement.

"It was a sealed building containing the laboratory and research of Rezo the Red Priest himself. I think it was around this area," Firia's face was twisted up as she strained to remember things from such a long time ago. Zelgadiss was instantly cloaked by the gloom cloud again as he slumped into a droopy position on his chair. Firia gave him a questioning look, and Zelgadiss explained his disappointment to her.

"I've already heard of AND been to that place. It was completely destroyed by an enemy. And it's located in Sairaag, not around here," Zelgadiss explained in a soft, almost incomprehensible voice as he slumped farther down in his seat.

"I could have SWORN it was around here. Oh well, I guess I should have paid more attention to my lessons," Firia replied, laughing at herself as she spoke. Then, noticing that Zelgadiss looked something like mushy porridge seeping off of his chair, added, "Come on! Is it really THAT big of a deal?"

"No, not really," Zelgadiss sat up straight and un-porridged himself, "It's just that, I think we're after a phantom place. I really don't think that a sealed white magic place that we've NEVER heard of is out there."

"Well, you never know until you try," Firia stated brightly, trying to distract Zelgadiss from his negative thoughts.

"Yeah..." Zelgadiss droned, noticing that the waiter was finally coming over to refill his mug of coffee. He stared out the window of the restaurant, looking at the gradually darkening sky. His mind wasn't really on the conversation he had just had with Firia, or even on the white magic building- it was on Ameria. Why, he didn't know, but that was all he could see in his brain. He would need to talk to her about what was bothering him so she wasn't worried... And talk to her soon.

OOOOOOO

Ameria was sick of holding it in. Zelgadiss was upset about something, and it was driving her crazy. He had been fine just days ago but he had suddenly gotten all gloomy like he had been before they he had apologized to her. Unfortunately, there was no chance that she could talk to Zelgadiss alone while she was lying in bed in the middle of the night. With Xelloss around, who knows when she would get the next chance to speak with Zelgadiss alone?

Needing to express her feelings to someone, Ameria addressed her roommate, Lina, with a soft whisper.

"Lina-san?" No answer. Ameria waited a few seconds before raising her voice a bit.

"Lina-saaaaaan?" The stubborn sorceress still refused to answer. Ameria gave a frustrated sigh and tried to get a response out of Lina one last time.

"Lina-san! I know you're awake," Ameria sighed in exasperation, glaring through the darkness at the bed beside her. Lina's breathing was normal instead of lagging with sleep and she wasn't moving. This was obvious proof that she was awake. When Lina was asleep, she tossed and turned like a raging tornado. For a few seconds there was silence, and then Lina finally decided to reply.

"Mmmmmmmm..." the groan rose from the bed, sounding tired and annoyed. Ameria waited for some comprehensible words as well, but silence followed. Not wanting to wait for Lina to speak, Ameria began the conversation by herself.

"Hey, Lina-san? Does Zelgadiss-san seem different to you?" Ameria asked, staring at the ceiling thoughtfully. It was kind of a sharp, direct dive into the conversation, but the speaking seemed one-sided to begin with so that wasn't really an issue.

"In whaaaaat way...?" Lina moaned sleepily, drawing out some of the words.

"Well, gloomier. I mean, he was a step behind cheerful when we started this whole search, but just a day or so ago, he suddenly got... gloomy," Ameria explained, playing with the lining of her covers. This inn was of lower quality then the ones before it, and the blankets felt scratchy.

"Zel's always gloomy," Lina replied shortly, yawning in the middle of her sentence.

"Lina-san! Try to work with me, here. Didn't you just hear what I said? Zelgadiss-san got cheerful and then suddenly all gloomy!" Ameria realized that her attempt at whispering was failing and lowered her voice back down to a low hiss. Lina let out a long sigh of exhaustion before reluctantly answering.

"Don't worry about Zel so much! If he wants to be depressed, then that's his own problem," Lina said sharply, recovering from her exhaustion abruptly and successfully scaring Ameria.

"But I can't help it," Ameria admitted, turning her gaze on Lina, who was facing away from her. "He just... seems so sad all the time. It makes me frustrated. I want to make Zelgadiss-san enjoy life the way I do."

"He's not going to," Lina replied honestly.

"Well, not until he finds his cure," Ameria corrected, playing with her pillow as she tried to dodge Lina's harsh truth.

"He's not going to enjoy life even when he does find his cure. He'll find something else wrong and brood over that," Lina replied bluntly, feeling a little guilty for being so harsh- but so irritated that Ameria was always stressing over Zelgadiss's messed up life at the same time.

"No-That's not..." Ameria began, but then broke off, thinking about Zelgadiss. He had changed, hadn't he? HE had been the one to go and apologize to her, though it had taken him time. Zelgadiss didn't rely on others to hold friendship completely on their shoulders anymore. Zelgadiss was slowly but surely learning how to make and keep people he could love and trust.

"Zelgadiss isn't like that anymore," Ameria finished firmly, a soft smile across her lips. Hearing her words, Lina turned over in bed so Ameria could finally see her face. She was surprised at how upset Lina looked.

"Sorry. I guess you're right," Lina tried to brush off her look with a smile and lighthearted tone, but Ameria had seen her face right before. Lina had had a moment of apologetic realization. She had spoken about Zelgadiss without thinking; without noting the changes that had come over him.

"No. That's fine," Ameria just shrugged, realizing how rare it was to hear a accepting it. Lina's face melted back to a neutral expression from what Ameria could straightforward apology from Lina and see through the dim moonlight shining through the window. Ameria decided that Lina was done with the conversation, judging by the atmosphere she was giving off. Too bad. Ameria enjoyed her conversations. But that's just the way her friendship with Lina worked. Brief conversations that didn't usually go too deep.

"Oh, hey, Ameria. You might want to talk to him. Zelgadiss," Lina added as she turned back over in bed. Ameria felt a grin curl across her lips. Gourry had been right. Lina had been worried about her, and it was obvious. But now it seemed as if she had gotten back on track. That was good.

"Yeah. I already did, but I think I'll try again," Ameria agreed. She got no answer, and assumed that a very sleepy Lina didn't want to be disturbed any longer. Sleep. That sounded like a good idea. Who knows how many hours there were until morning.

Shockingly, Ameria drifted into sleep just a few minutes later, the churning worries in her stomach gone after talking with one of her closest friends.

**End Note: **Worth the wait? I doubt it. Anyways, I would promise you that it'll get better, but I don't think it will. Weeellllll, there WILL be more fluff coming up, so that might be okay. Well, that's enough chattering for now.

**To the Reviewers: **

(This section is now and forever more deleted due to a new rule on this site. Thanks so much Gerao- A, for telling me about this rule.)

**Up Next: **Lina gets into a horrible mood and blasts everyone in sight. But can a certain jellyfish break her from the mood? And isn't it time for another Xelloss/ Firia conversation? All this, coming up in Stone Cold chapter 17 (which will hopefully have a better title then chapter 16)!


	17. Chapter 17: Splashed Sense!

**Beginning Note: **Too bad. I got this chapter out a week later then I wanted to. At least it didn't take as long as last time. I THINK I'll be able to work on this during Christmas break, but our family is leaving for a few days. So I can't guarantee another chapter until Christmas break is over.

I KNOW that I'm going to get questions later, so I guess I had better explain this right now. Lina is in a bad mood in this chapter just because it was one of those days that she felt like complaining and arguing. A little bit gappy, I know, but it was for Lina x Gourry fluff's sake! So you can forgive me, right?

**Disclaimer: **Meh. Don't own.

Chapter 17: Splashed Sense? Xelloss gives a hint!

"Travel, sleep. Travel, sleep. AND tra-vel sleeeeeeep!" Lina shouted, her anger rising as she kicked at the dusty ground that seemed to stretch on endlessly without change. "What is up with this? When are we going to get to that stupid white magic place! Huh? Huh?"

Xelloss sighed with pleasure as he soaked up Lina's negative emotions but cringed as Ameria drew nearer to him. The princess let off the most positive, disgusting feelings of anyone Xelloss had known- and always succeeded in making Xelloss sick. This time, however, they weren't quite as bright as usual, since Ameria was worn down from fatigue, lack of a good night's rest, and Lina's constant nagging. Despite this, Xelloss still felt sick. He stopped hovering and let himself drop to the ground, staggering wearily and rubbing at his forehead.

"It hasn't been that long since we set out on this journey, Lina-san," Ameria pointed out, praying that she would stop, "We'll get there in a couple days, maybe."

"I want real food!" Lina whined, scuffing at the ground with the toes of her boots like a pouting child as she walked.

"You GOT real food last night," Zelgadiss sighed. He had a pained look on his face as if Lina's whining was giving him a headache.

"What's everyone so upset about?" Gourry asked dumbly, looking around at the group. Xelloss did the same, seeing how many of them were down in spirits. Lina was screaming about a real bed or something. Ameria was telling her how they had slept in a real bed last night. Zelgadiss was making a pathetic moaning noise as he was engulfed by a thick gloom cloud. Gourry was... just there, making stupid comments whenever they were needed. And Firia- where was she? Xelloss looked over his shoulder and saw that she was hanging back in the group. She seemed to be polishing Valgaav's egg looking very pleased and entertained. Ah, the perfect target.

Xelloss shortened his steps, purposely adjusting to Firia's pace. The dragon almost instantly noticed this and rolled her eyes, sighing with annoyance. Xelloss didn't bother to hide the grin on his face. Firia was always the most fun to bug. Firia stared back at Valgaav's egg and continued polishing it, a strained look on her face. It was obviously taking all of her willpower to ignore him. Perfect.

"What are you doing, Firia-san?" Xelloss asked, though he knew very well what she was doing. Firia ignored this question, and instead returned it with one of her own.

"Xelloss? What do you know about this white magic building?" Firia asked, catching Xelloss off guard. But only for a second. The instant Firia realized what she had asked and who she had asked it to, she flinched, expecting the normal answer. And that was just what Xelloss gave her.

"Well, Firia-san, that is a secret!" Xelloss sung, enjoying himself immensely as he gave the typical finger wave and wink- making sure to exaggerate the motions more then usual. He expected that this would be enough to send her roaring after him, mace in hand. But, surprisingly, these actions only sent a furious quiver running up her spine.

"Hnn," Firia grumbled, turning her gaze from him and scrubbing extra hard at the dragon egg in her frustration, adding sourly, "Sorry I asked." Xelloss blinked in surprise, but then found himself smiling again. Firia's temper really had improved. She never went as far as turning dragon and setting towns on fire anymore. He still had the satisfaction of being the most annoying person/Mazoku in the world to Firia, but still. Xelloss wasn't quite sure if he enjoyed Firia's behavior improvement or despised it. He had actually quite liked being chased around by a towering golden dragon and dodging her heavy blows with ease. But it was fun at times to actually carry out a conversation with a calmer, more polite side of Firia.

"Why do you want to know this?" Xelloss questioned curiously, waving a gloved hand in Firia's face to get her attention. Firia made a violent swipe at his hand, and missed. Muttering in frustration, she tenderly cushioned the egg back into its basket and placed the basket back into her supply bag before answering.

"It's just that I had a very interesting conversation with Zelgadiss last evening," Firia mumbled, talking more to herself then Xelloss.

"Aaaaaand?" Xelloss encouraged her to continued, a catlike grin on his face as he tried to sneak information from Firia before she could know what he was doing.

"Maybe that's a seeeecret from you," Firia replied slyly, miming his wink and finger wag. Xelooss felt his grin widen. He had to be ten times better then Firia at doing that secret act. She needed lots of practice.

"Come on. Speak up. If you tell me what the conversation was about, then I'll answer your question," Xelloss coaxed, hardly believing what he was saying. That dragon had charmed him or something. He had never thought that 'the dragon-killing Mazoku Xelloss' would bargain with a golden dragon. Oh well. He was curious, and Xelloss just couldn't STAND being curious. With a sigh, Firia gave in; as she was also curious.

"Well...Zelgadiss asked me what I knew about the white magic building and I responded by telling him that I have heard of a place that sounds much like this description that was created by Rezo the Red Priest. Zelgadiss told me that this place I spoke of was actually in Sairaag, and had been destroyed," Firia explained, staring ahead thoughtfully. "But I could have sworn that the Red Priest's lab was around here." Firia stopped talking and Xelloss decided that she was done. He thought deeply about the things she had said. Finally, he smiled as he managed to sort through all of this information. He had gotten much more information then he thought he would.

"Now. Answer my question," Firia reminded, staring with piercing eyes at Xelloss. Xelloss flinched at her sudden change of mood, dropping his thoughts on the subject. He considered just responding with another secret act, but then decided against it. She deserved an answer, and there was no way he could give away as much as she just had. Firia had just confirmed all of Xelloss's half-finished research and plans.

"Well, okay. But only a little bitty hint," Xelloss replied. Firia continued to stare at him until he spoke. "I HAVE heard of both Rezo's lab in Sairaag AND this white magic building you speak of. Zelgadiss speaks the truth; Rezo's lab is indeed located in Sairaag and was destroyed," Xelloss explained.

Then, before Firia could ask him another question, Xelloss teleported to the head of the traveling group, leaving Firia twice as confused as before. Xelloss reappeared, hovering next to the still arguing Lina. She didn't even notice him. Xelloss, realizing that he didn't feel sick any longer, was greatly puzzled. Firia hadn't given off any negative emotions this time, and feelings of justice were still radiating off of the princess. So why did he feel better?

OOOOOO

Lina's whining doubled about five hours later, when it was decided that they would have to make camp in the forest instead of in a town. Even Ameria was cranky and snapped at anyone who talked to her. Everyone was upset but Xelloss, who was overflowing with so many negative emotions, that he felt like he could burst. Needlesss to say, everyone was directing their hatred at Xelloss, since he was hovering above the campsite, watching the others work and chatting brightly over a cup of tea with no one in particular. Gourry noticed that Lina was upset, and decided to somehow pull her away from all the stress. It took him awhile, but he thought of the perfect plan.

"Lina!"

"What, jellyfish?"

"Uhhh... I'm guessing that everyone's hungry..." Gourry began awkwardly, glancing carefully at Lina to make sure she wasn't readying a spell.

"Of course! Why don't you get us something to eat?" Lina snapped, turning furious glare Gourry's way. Gourry, like most people, was afraid of people with glowing eyes and long, pointed fangs; so he took a couple steps away from Lina to make sure she didn't eat his soul or something like that.

"I want you to come," Gourry blurted out, flinching afterwards.

"No. Why?" Lina questioned, an angry edge to her voice.

"Well, you're the best at fishing and there are nothing around but springs," Gourry explained, shrugging carelessly as he waited for an answer.

"Ugh. You're hopeless, huh? Fine," Lina muttered, rising into a standing position. She followed Gourry sluggishly into the forest, still muttering things darkly under her breath. Lina purposely lagged behind so she didn't have to look at Gourry's way-too-happy face. Maybe it was Xelloss, or maybe it was the fact that Zel's bad attitude was bugging Ameria again; but something was REALLY ticking Lina off besides the fact that she wanted real food and a real bed again. When she looked at people enjoying themselves like Gourry was, it made Lina want to blow up something. So she stayed behind a bit, clinging stubbornly to her rotten attitude.

The two of them walked in silence for a while, Lina having given up with her muttering. The silence irritated Lina, but she did not want to start a conversation with someone she was mad at. Wait. When and why had she gotten mad at Gourry? Lina didn't know. She was just in one of those moods that she hated everyone who wasn't miserable, and Gourry's stupidly cheerful nature was digging at her nerves. Lina gave a heavy sigh, scratching her head vigorously in irritation. Gourry must have misunderstood this for Lina being tired of walking.

"We're almost at that stream, Lina," Gourry offered, looking at her over his shoulder with those innocent blue eyes. "See?" He added, pointing to the rushing trail of clear water ahead. Lina didn't answer, her face an expression of pure gloom.

She kneeled beside the water next to Gourry, furious with everything. It made her mad that SHE was mad, since it was obviously upsetting Gourry and everyone else around her. But Lina was too stubborn just to smile and suddenly get happy. She had to act mad until no one tried to cheer her up. And Gourry obviously was trying. Arrrgh! Why was her life so complicated? Lina just seemed to be ticked at everything lately! It was wearing her o-

SPLASH!

Lina gasped in surprise as Gourry splashed a spray of ice cold water on her by slapping one arm onto the surface of the water. The water was FREEZING! Lina could feel it run in cold streams, soaking her hair and clothes after it hit her face in one cold, biting instance. For a few seconds, Lina was too surprised to do anything. Then, wondering why Gourry had done that, Lina looked questioningly at him.

"Hey, Lina? Sorry, okay?" Gourry told her with a playful sort of grin when he saw her puzzled face, not looking sorry at all. "You just looked like you needed some sense SPLASHED into you!" He broke off into that kind, sensitive laugh of his- one that never failed to make Lina feel better.

Gourry's words were true. She DID need some sense splashed into her, to calm her down a bit. Lina already felt better, despite the icy water running in rivers down her shivering body. So that was why Gourry had brought her along, huh? The jellyfish had planned this out all by himself. And, well, Lina thanked him in her mind. But, on the outside, her face twisted into one of anger, blushing bright red. Despite what he had done for her, she couldn't let him get away with splashing Lina Inverse- the powerful and pretty sorceress. With a trace of a smile hidden in her anger features, she swiftly darted forward and pushed his off-balance body into the stream.

"COLD!" Gourry yelled, surfacing after making a great big splash.

"Why don't you go catch some fish by yourself!" Lina snapped indignantly, wringing water from the collar of her shirt. He looked so cold, and Lina looked so angry- but they were really both smiling.

**End Note: **Corny? Dumb? Okay? Fluffy? What are your thoughts? This chapter was supposed to have some XF and LG, just so you know.

I'm just getting the hang of replying individually to everyone's reviews through E-mail, so if I missed anyone then PLEASE let me know so I can send you a reply.

Finally: Up next is the solid AZ chapter. Look forward to it.


	18. Chapter 18: Forgotten Feelings

**Beginning Note: **I got busy. That's why this chapter took so long to get out. WHAT was I busy with, you ask? Er... That is a secret! Enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **Nope.Don't own.

**Chapter 18:** Forgotten Feelings

Lina and Gourry returned to camp soaking wet and with barely enough fish for all of them to eat. So all of them (minus Xelloss) shared a delicious but small meal of fish. Also, to everyone's relief (minus Xelloss again), Lina was no longer in her bad mood, and smiled and chatted like normal during dinner. This was a disappointment for the priest since now everyone seemed in better spirits, so he had no negative emotions to absorb. Even Zelgadiss seemed to perk up a bit, but his attitude still worried Ameria.

Though Ameria had told Lina that she would talk to Zelgadiss, she hadn't gotten a chance yet. Xelloss was buzzing around them like an annoying bee while they traveled, and then Zelgadiss had gone to boil some coffee with the supplies he had bought in the last town, narrowing the chances of her speaking with him even farther. This would have been okay, except Ameria thought it wouldn't be that smart to speak with Zel before he had coffee in his system. He tended to be a bit grouchy and snappy.

Now, the skies were completely dark minus the sliver of moonlight that peeked through the misty clouds and dark treetop silhouettes. Ameria was the only one who seemed to be awake. Lina and Gourry were both snoring, and were sleeping just one step away from together since they were only about a foot apart. Xelloss was who knows where; he always disappeared during the night and reappeared in the morning when no one but Zelgadiss and Lina had woken up. Firia was asleep as well, having turned in early right after dinner and dropping off to sleep immediately. Ameria thought that she was stressed over either the fact that Xelloss was traveling with them or the fact that she would have an ancient dragon to take care of when Valgaav's egg hatched (Firia told Ameria that it could take years or days, depending on the baby it held. Valgaav's looked as if it would take at least a year).

Zelgadiss was also missing, but he had probably brought it upon himself to keep watch and had moved into a slightly clearer location. Ameria played with the cool, sandy-dirt around her with one finger, tracing the words for her name, 'Justice' and 'Zelgadiss'. She had already tried to go to sleep, but had been unable- so now she was just stalling for morning to come. She was just beginning to write a 'hero' in the earth, when she heard a tiny, musical noise. It seemed to be a guitar, carrying a tragic, bitter tune through the area Ameria was in. Zelgadiss!

Cautiously, since Lina was cranky when woken up early, Ameria tread through the huddle of her sleeping friends almost silently until she was far enough away to not worry about the sound of her steps. She did not have her cape over her normal pants and shirt, and found the air painfully nippy. That was okay. The cool air actually made her feel more awake and refreshed; plus there was no wind blowing so a calm, pleasant temperature filled the area. Ameria followed the sound of the guitar, wondering how far away Zelgadiss was.

As she listened and walked, Ameria could feel tears prickle the corners of her eyes. She couldn't help it. The melody was just so sad. It made her insides churn to think that Zelgadiss knew so much tragedy that he could express such bitter feelings through his music. Zelgadiss's playing sung smoothly through the crisp air, but he obviously didn't know all of the song he was playing, since he kept playing the same bits over and over. Finally, the music got louder and Ameria could see her friends back. He was sitting on a huge, flat rock, a ledge of some sorts, overlooking a lower part of the forest. She quietly tiptoed over until she was almost right by him. Surprisingly, he didn't sense her presence. Not wanting to disrupt his song, Ameria just listened and watched.

Zelgadiss's fingers plucked at the strings as the melody continued. No. Plucked wasn't the right word. He struck the strings in a smooth, cool way that made the entire song blend into one musical combination- instead of each note being singled out. He had his eyes shut, a lonely expression on his face. Ameria also noticed with delight that the guitar he was using was the one that she had bought him earlier on. So he had kept it, huh? Ameria was very pleased. She closed her eyes as well as the song continued, and found that the music seemed to speak to her.

Without warning, Zelgadiss struck a wrong string and abruptly stopped playing, swearing softly as he set his guitar down on his lap. Ameria decided that this was the perfect opportunity to start a conversation and spoke up. "Don't stop now. I like your playing." Hearing her voice, Zelgadiss flinched and whirled around. Seeing Ameria's familiar form, Zelgadiss relaxed- though he looked embarrassed.

"You heard?" Zelgadiss asked in a nervous voice, blush spreading across his face.

"I liked it. Really," Ameria assured him, walking closer to him and taking a seat on the ground beside him. Zelgadiss still looked doubtful and ashamed.

"I don't see why. These horrible fingers are too slow to strike the strings correctly," Zelgadiss muttered, staring in dismay at one of his open hands. Ameria didn't like the way the conversation was headed, and tried desperately to change it.

"That technique you were using... It was great. The song blended completely together," Ameria complimented, pointing to the guitar spread across his lap.

"Hnn. Rezo taught it to me," Zelgadiss replied, looking greatly upset.

"You were very close to your grandfather, weren't you?" Ameria asked, thinking about how little of Zelgadiss's past she knew. He hid so much of his life from everyone that his entire past was a mystery to her; aside from the fact that the great Rezo the Red Priest was both his grandfather and great-grandfather.

"Not really," Zelgadiss muttered, looking at the guitar on his lap rather then making eye contact. Ameria could tell that he was lying.

"Why are you trying to hide it? You know that he was being controlled by Shabranigdu when he turned you into a chimera?" Ameria asked, and then felt blush spread across her face. Maybe she had said a bit too much. Zelgadiss hated talking about his personal life.

"Well, I guess he filled the roll of father for me. He IS the one who raised me and taught me most of what I know. But still... he hurt so many people; took so many lives for such self-centered reasons. I don't want to be related to someone like that. I don't want to turn out like him," Zelgadiss mumbled. Ameria wished that she could see his face, but his wiry hair was hiding it since he was slumped and facing downwards.

"Rezo was wrong. But now he's dead. There's nothing that will bring him back, OR reverse the wrongs he has done. I'm sure Rezo felt really bad. Lina-san told me his last words. I think he has earned everyone's forgiveness," Ameria explained. She felt like she had no right to be saying this, since she had never even known the guy, but her mind told her that Zelgadiss needed to be given this advice.

" 'I'm sorry... and thank you' or something like that. I don't remember exactly. I suppose he has earned forgiveness. If it wasn't for Rezo, Lina would have never defeated the piece of the great Shabranigdu," Zelgadiss realized, his look not as downcast as he saw some reasoning in Ameria's words.

"I always had wanted to meet Rezo the Red Priest when I was younger. He was such a generous guy before he went crazy," Ameria remarked, trying to meet Zelgadiss's eye. Zelgadiss finally allowed himself to look into her eyes.

"You're right. But he was always so sad. He sang me that song I was playing earlier. I think he made it up himself," Zelgadiss replied, digging back into his memories from long ago.

"Could you play it again for me?" Ameria begged, pleading him with an irresistible puppy dog face. Zelgadiss blushed and sighed, readying the guitar. The notes rang out louder and clearer this time. He repeated the bits of the song he new several times before stopping.

Zelgadiss broke off, biting his lip. "There were many words as well- but I can't remember them. So, how was it?" He asked, turning his attention from the guitar to Ameria.

"One problem," Ameria replied, holding up her index finger.

"Oh? And what would that be?" Zelgadiss asked curiously.

"It was too sad. You need to play music that pleases yourself," Ameria lectured, breaking off with a shrug.

"It's a confusing song. I never understood it when I was younger. I guess you're right about the mood it gives off. It's so mournful and dark. To think that Rezo had such negative feelings bottled up inside...I never would have guessed from looking at him," Zelgadiss observed, scratching the smooth rim of the guitar thoughtfully with a fingernail.

"So he was not at all like Kopii?" Ameria asked curiously.

"Not at all. He used to be the closest person in the world to me; the only person I was even close to," Zelgadiss sighed, a faraway look in his eyes.

"Is that why you've been so upset lately- you've been thinking about him?" Ameria asked, her eyes filled with concern. Zelgadiss's eyes continued to look into the distance, and he didn't answer. Ameria saw that his body was trembling.

"Zelgadiss-san?" Ameria asked anxiously, looking at her companion.

OOOOOOO

_"NO! Do you wish to destroy the world you so longed to see! REZO! Snap out of it! REZO!" Zelgadiss could hear his own voice, strained and desperate as he looked at the monster his grandfather had become. Zelgadiss longed to restore his original, hoping that if the monster was destroyed the old Rezo would return. Despite what he had said, Zelgadiss didn't hate Rezo. He just hated THIS Rezo. No, not Rezo. Shabranigdu. He hated Shabranigdu. Where was Rezo? Where was his grandfather's soul hiding? _

_Zelgadiss watched in fear as the twisted beast was turned to crumbling, gray stone as the Giga Slave destroyed his body. Did this mean that Rezo was dead too? Zelgadiss could feel rare tears prickling the corners of his eyes. For Zolf. For Rodimus. For Rezo. He couldn't ignore the fact that Rezo had done wrong, but who didn't? Why did he have to die when he had done so much good for everyone else?_

_"Thank you... and I'm sorry..." Zelgadiss could hear the familiar voice echoing through the sky. He sensed that Rezo could see now. His eyes were opened into the natural purple color that they should have been. He would never get to see the world he was born on, he would only see many other things that were to come. Zelgadiss thought he could hear music- the song that Rezo used to sing to him. He felt a ripping pain in his chest, one a hundred times worse the pain he had felt when he had discovered that he would half to live his life in a horrible stone body. Rezo was gone, from Zelgadiss at least, forever. No. He had been gone since the day he had changed Zelgadiss into a chimera._

OOOOOOOO

"N-no...R...e..." Zelgadiss stammered, his body quivering weakly. He suddenly felt sick. Just the memory that he had tried to push away made him sick. Was he going mad too? Did Rezo go mad because he never told anyone what he felt inside? Why? Why? WHY? That was all that went through Zelgadiss's mind...until...

Zelgadiss felt Ameria lean forward, hugging him tightly with her warm arms. Zelgadiss was too shocked to respond; his mouth snapped open and shut as he tried to bring himself to speak. Warmth flooded through his freezing body, making him sigh with relief as his entire body relaxed.

"Zelgadiss-san? What's going on?" Ameria asked in a muffled voice, her face buried in the folds of his cloak. Zelgadiss could feel himself return to Earth, his heaving chest slowing down its rate. He didn't speak for a few minutes, still trying to lessen the shock. But finally he brought himself to answer Ameria.

"I'm sorry. I try not to get like this around others. I've just been having a little trouble lately. I've been remembering things that I want to forget- you don't need to worry about me," Zelgadiss assured her- feeling his shaking voice grow warmer with every word. More tender. When he spoke to Ameria, he could feel his voice grow tenderer.

"But you'll be okay? I mean... you just suddenly-"Ameria broke off hastily, her voice so full of concern that Zelgadiss was touched. Though he felt blush travel across his face, Zelgadiss decided not to break the mood this time. Reaching a hand downwards, he gingerly brushed a strand of Ameria's bangs back from her face so he could see her.

"I'm okay. I promise," Zelgadiss replied firmly, being truthful. Ameria's warmth had made the feelings inside him vanish almost instantly, and he now was truly okay. The tough time he had been going through was over.

"Alright then, Zelgadiss-san," Ameria sung, cheering up almost instantly when she saw the honest look on his face.

"Now, you get some sleep. We have to get up and start traveling again in just a few hours. Okay, Ameria?" Zelgadiss requested, bringing her close for one short hug and then letting her slip from his finally-responding arms.

"Okay!" Ameria replied, completely satisfied. She rose from the ground, heading towards the camp in her usual skippy-ish steps. Zelgadiss stopped her before she could get far.

"Hey, Ameria? Er... Thanks," Zelgadiss muttered, plucking nervously at one of his guitar strings.

"Anytime. Think happy, okay?" came Ameria's reply, and then she was gone. He could hear her footsteps receding as she rejoined the camp. It was only then that he realized what an awkward situation he had been in and rubbed his furiously blushing face vigorously with his hands, feeling humiliated and childish. But it wasn't as if he had regretted their little conversation either.

**End Note: **Well, that was pretty fluffy. It also had a lot of Rezo. Sorry for those of you who don't really care for Rezo. This story was originally not supposed to have so much Rezo, but he's one of my favorite characters so he sort of accidentally took over. Anyways, the scenes taken from the series are most likely NOT exact, since I haven't watched the show in quite awhile. So please don't attack me for it. Oh, and let me know if I didn't reply to your review; that new replying system is still hard to keep track of.

Up Next: Xelloss finally seems like he's ready to make his move. The group gets suspicious and tries to figure out exactly what the trickster priest is planning.


	19. Chapter 19: Reasons of Death

**Beginning Note: **Sorry, sorry. I had this chapter all ready to go about three days ago. But you'd be surprised how hard it is to upload on fanfic chapter. A ba-zillion things seemed to distract or stop me from getting this chapter out. PLUS, I think it turned out a tad choppy. But, try to enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **Mrrrrrrrrr...No.

**Chapter 19:** Reasons of Death

The first thing Lina noticed when she woke up was that the tension between Zelgadiss and Ameria had somehow been broken overnight. The second thing that she noticed was that Zelgadiss was no longer in such a horrible mood. The chimera obviously hadn't slept, for he was already awake when Lina awoke and was stirring a pot of heating coffee, making a pleasant scent waft over the area. Ameria lay asleep, but had a calm smile on her face rather then a frown. Lina smiled, realizing that the group was finally beginning to get along. She then quickly frowned as she scanned the area. Where was Xelloss? He had been gone since last night. He HAD to be up to something.

Sighing wearily, upset that everything couldn't go smoothly for once, Lina raised herself to a seated position but decided not to wake the others up yet. Hearing the sigh, Zelgadiss looked up from his coffee and glanced over at Lina. He gave her a weak smile before continuing to stir his pot of coffee. Lina didn't return the smile. Zelgadiss was so confusing sometimes. Instead she spoke up, her voice a little crackly and uneven due to the fact that she had just woken up.

"Why are you so unusually happy this morning, Zel?"

Zelgadiss stared at Lina, caught off guard by her question. He then continued to stir at his coffee, though a bit distracted now. Shrugging, he turned his gaze away from Lina and pretended that he hadn't heard her comment. Lina stuck out her tongue angrily behind Zelgadiss's back. Zelgadiss obviously hated to hear that he was acting happier then usual, since he considered himself to be an 'emotionless swordsman'. But Lina noticed that he really didn't care about that anymore around Ameria; only the others.

"Huh." Lina snorted in irritation, rising from her resting area and staggering across the ground to attach her cape and shoulder pads to her usual outfit. Lina shook the cape draped over a smooth rock lightly and frowned. "I haven't raided any bandit camps since Xelloss showed up," Lina mumbled in a whiny voice, staring in dismay at the loose, flat blue cape that was usually lined with clinking sacks of gold and treasure.

"Hey, Zel! Know any bandit camps around here?" Lina called to him, trying more to force a sentence out of the silent chimera then anything else.

"If you wanted to hunt bandits, then you shouldn't have come along on a trip to find a building," Zelgadiss replied simply, taking a testing sip of the steaming coffee. Lina stuck her tongue out at him, though she was laughing on the inside. Even though Zelgadiss was acting like his normal, pouting self in his words and actions; his face looked calmed, relaxed, and just plain pleased about nothing in particular. Lina sat the rock that had been her earlier cape-holder, crossing her legs and sighing. She wouldn't wake the others up just yet; she had woken up much earlier then usual, after all.

Lina glanced from the sleeping figures of Gourry to Firia to Ameria, her smile fading a bit and changing to a look of puzzled concentration. From her place on the rock, Lina scanned the area. That was funny. "Huh. Xelloss still hasn't turned up yet," Lina mumbled, taking one last look at the treetops just in case he had decided to perch there to have a cup of tea.

"Funny. He left earlier then usual last night, and he's not back yet this morning. He's usually here by now," Zelgadiss agreed, staring up from his coffee.

"Who knows? He could be busy today. It's not as if Xelloss has perfectly free time on his hands," Lina suggested half-heartedly, biting her thumbnail as her eyes darted suspiciously around.

"Maybe so. But you can't trust that trickster. Despite what he said about not wanting to kill you, you might want to have Gourry watch your back or something," Zelgadiss muttered, his eyes narrowing. Lina had had enough of this tense atmosphere and decided to temporarily forget about Xelloss.

"In any case, let's wake the others up and get something for breakfast. I'm so hungry!" Lina replied. Zelgadiss just shrugged and rolled his eyes, continuing to sip at his coffee. Lina knew that something had definitely gone on between Zelgadiss and Ameria, but, for right now, she would spare them the questioning.

OOOOOOOO

Hours ticked by and there was still no sign of Xelloss. Lina had insisted that the group not wait for the trickster, so all of them began their daily travels once again. Ameria soon lost track of time as the endless hours ticked by. Her mind was centered on Zelgadiss; she always seemed to be thinking about him. Ameria felt so content to know that Zelgadiss was finally feeling better. His mind had been on his grandfather; perhaps the closest person in the world to him. How did it feel for him to fight against someone he had loved so much? Zelgadiss was no emotionless swordsman, and it had most likely been horribly painful. It made Ameria feel sick to think about this. She knew a bit of how he must have felt, having lost her mother.

Ameria glanced over at Zelgadiss, letting a small grin slide across her face as she noticed that the chimera looked fairly cheerful. Lina seemed in good spirits as well (considering that she had Xelloss nagging mercilessly on her mind), and this, of course, made Gourry cheerful as well. Firia seemed a bit more distracted, as if she expected Xelloss would pop out from the next corner at any second. Ameria herself felt a bit pressured by the fact that Xelloss hadn't shown up yet, but it wasn't digging too much into her mind. Finally, stressed and hungry, Lina called a break by the roadside for a discussion and lunchtime.

"So, which town should we be hitting next?" Lina asked Ameria when the group had settled, knowing that Ameria had the best knowledge of the building.

"Uhm... I really don't think that we'll be hitting anymore towns, Lina-san. Maybe a small one, but none large enough to be of any importance. We're actually close to the rumored location of the building," Ameria explained, dreading Lina's reaction to this news. Lina was surprisingly calm when she heard this, and instead of screaming about how she wanted real food and beds, she just nodded and continued her thoughts.

"So, we're getting closer to the target and Xelloss goes missing. How strange," Zelgadiss observed, taking the words out of Lina's mouth.

"What would a Mazoku want with white magic? Isn't that the healing kind?" Gourry remarked, scratching his head in bewilderment. Lina and Ameria nodded in agreement when they heard both these observations. Firia moved in closer to the circle the group made and added her own bit.

"So then, you think that that namagomi's motives have something to do with the white magic building?" Firia asked.

"Right," Lina replied, nodding once. "He seemed to know we would be going on this trip before we even set out. I think he wants something in that building, and he doesn't want to do any of the work to get it."

"Work? What work," Gourry asked. Ameria answered his question.

"If you remember what was written in the book, everyone who tried to reenter this place has died. Xelloss, knowing what a sorcery genius Lina-san is, might've traveled with us only because he thought that we could get rid of some enemies or obstacles for him," Ameria explained. Zelgadiss picked up from there, his voice rising as he grew more excited.

"Then, you think that everyone died because of enemies guarding this building?" he asked in an almost breathless voice. Ameria nodded.

"But this building is pretty old. How are those enemies still alive and in good condition?" Gourry asked.

"Mazoku." Firia breathed, her voice low.

"But what kind of white magic building would have Mazoku guarding it?" Lina pointed out, a sly grin spreading across her face. Zelgadiss gasped, pieces beginning to fit together.

"You mean-"

"Hi, everyone. What's all the whispering about?" Xelloss's cheerful voice interrupted. The trickster priest appeared right in the center of the whispering group, making all of them gasp and spread out in surprise. Lina was the first to speak, pointing an outraged finger at Xelloss.

"You-WHERE WERE YOU ALL OF THIS TIME?" Lina shrieked in a furious voice. Xelloss peered at her through almost-closed eyes, shrugging carelessly.

"Awwwww... Now, come on. Does it really matter if I was a little late?" Xelloss pleaded teasingly, hovering closer to Lina with a catlike smirk across his face. Lina was not amused.

"Xelloss. Wipe that grin off of your face and explain yourself before I fireball you," Lina growled in a threatening voice, making the rest of her companions back a few quick steps away.

"Calm down, Lina. I was simply doing some Mazoku duties this morning," Xelloss assured her, holding up his gloved hands in defense. Lina crossed her arms and raised one eyebrow, not buying Xelloss's excuses for a minute.

"'Mazoku duties'? Oh? And what would those be?" Lina questioned, staring accusingly at Xelloss.

"Just this and that," Xelloss dodged the subject with a wave of his hand, and then added craftily, "And if we don't start traveling again soon, we WILL fall horribly off schedule." Hearing this, Lina gulped nervously.

"I hate to admit it, but he's right, Lina," Zelgadiss whispered in her ear from right behind her. Lina nodded in agreement, anxious to find that white magic building.

"Whatever. But don't think you've gotten away with this, Xelloss. I'll be getting all the information out of you that I can just as soon as I have enough time," Lina threatened, just inches from Xelloss's face before turning heel and walking away from him at a fast pace towards the past.

"Information? But all I did was meet you a couple hours late. Is there something wrong with that?" Xelloss mumbled in a whiney voice, hovering after Lina.

"Well, I guess we should keep traveling," Ameria suggested, breaking the other's silence as she followed after Lina and Xelloss. Zelgadiss, Firia, and Gourry all murmured hasty agreements and followed Lina as well, but they were quiet right afterwards. Not a sound broke the silence. An uneasy feeling had spread over the group. It would only be a matter of time before Xelloss acted.

OOOOOO

It was actually only an hour later that Xelloss decided to take action. He started a heated conversation about whether the group should stay on the path to the general area of the white magic building, or if they should break off from the path so they could rest up and gather supplies at a nearby town. Xelloss had proved to pick the right topic, for soon everyone's attention was averted from Xelloss as he slipped slyly from the conversation. Xelloss then slowly made his way from the group's cluster until he was finally out of their sight in a group of sharp-leaved bushes on the side of the path.

The priest smiled, glad that everything was going so smoothly. He knew that in just seconds the others would notice that he was gone, but he only needed a second. Lina was a smart one. Xelloss had been counting on a bit more time before Lina got so suspicious, but everything would still turn out okay. But he could no longer travel in the group, nor could he let the group travel with one another. At least Lina and the others could still get some of his work out of the way.

Opening his eyes slightly Xelloss raised his staff above his head and then slammed it forcefully to the dusty earth.

**End Note: **Aggggghhhh... This plot is getting shakier and shakier. Pretty soon it's going to tumble and break into a billion pieces. Sorry about the plot, but it's not going to get much better from here. You'll most likely be a bit disappointed. Anyways, just let me know if I missed replying to your review.

**Up Next: **My next update might take awhile, since I'm working on a couple Slayers oneshots that I'm hoping to post soon. But I'll get it out as soon as possible. You're finally going to see what Xelloss is up to, and I'm warning you: it's so simple and stupid that you WILL be disappointed... Anyways, I hope this chapter wasn't too corny, and see you next time!


	20. Chapter 20: SplitUp Part one

**Beginning Note: **Okay, I'm REALLY REALLY sorry for taking OVER a month to update. My story was pushed down to the third page, something that I hoped I would never do. I have auditions to get into High School Band coming up really soon, though, so I've been sort of busy practicing. Anyways, I'll stop making excuses. Here is what all of you have been waiting for: Xelloss's intentions. I have to say, they aren't as CORNY as they used to be after I edited them silghtly, but they're still pretty bad. Try not to be disappointed.

**Disclaimer: **If I was smart enough to own Slayers, I'd actually be able to do Algebra (but I can't... waaa...).

**Chapter 20:** The Split-Up (Part one)

As Firia's heavy eyelids slowly fluttered open, she automatically lifted a weakened hand to rub her throbbing head. She was sprawled out on a patch of fluffy grass, one of the many patches spread randomly throughout the dirty ground. Scattered leaved speckled the area, and clumps of dark bushes and thick trees surrounded her as well. What in the world had happened to her? Firia shakily pushed herself upwards into a seated position, leaning her back against a nearby tree for support. Where were Lina, Ameria, Gourry, and Zelgadiss? They had all been with her just seconds ago, right? It seemed as if she had simply blinked, opening her eyes to find that she had a painful, dizzying headache and all of her companions had vanished. Or had it really been JUST seconds ago? Firia's brain told her that it had just been seconds, but a part of her body felt as if she had been unconscious for hours.

Firia glanced around at the area and noted that it wasn't the same place they had been traveling in. Instead of a path on an almost clear road, Firia appeared to be was in what was a sparser portion of a forest. She decided not panic and simply took a couple deep breaths so she could think the situation through. Rather then regaining her footing and looking for the others, Firia continued to lean against the tree, regaining the strength that she seemed to have lost. She then attempted to outline all of the information in her brain. Her situation was actually pretty simple.

She was in a forest, but the plants did not differ much from the ones on the side of the path she had been on earlier. This meant that she was probably not too far from the original path. She felt a bit weak and dizzy, but there was no actual damage to worry about. Whether hours or seconds had gone by was beyond her. The main questions in Firia's mind were: 'Did Lina and the others also get affected by whatever had happened to me?' 'Were all of them split up individually in different areas of the forest?' 'Did I somehow slip behind the group so they all got ahead of me?'

It did seem rather suspicious, though. A nagging part of Firia's brain told her that something important had happened earlier; something her foggy mind couldn't quite figure out at this time. But one theory had already popped into Firia's mind. Considering that this was some sort of unnatural predicament she was in, wouldn't it be likely that the master of trouble himself had caused it? Yes, it could only be the work of Firia's least favorite namagomi, Xelloss.

"There you are, Firia-san." The familiar voice came sickeningly on cue, making Firia wonder if she had jinxed the situation with her thoughts.

"Xelloss," Firia muttered furiously, stating the obvious as she stared hatefully at the figure that had appeared in front of her. Xelloss smiled pleasantly, soaking in her negative emotions like a hungry sponge. Though she spoke harshly to Xelloss, part of Firia's mind warned her to be cautious around him. After all, Xelloss was a dangerous Mazoku, one guilty of slaughtering a large number of dragons. If he didn't get what he wanted, who knew what could happen. Realizing that Firia wasn't going to try to start a conversation, Xelloss continued.

"How are you doing?" He tried again, once again attempting his 'I'm-an-innocent-angel-who-didn't-cause-any-trouble' act. Firia didn't even think about falling for it.

"Namagomi! You caused me to split up from Lina and the others, didn't you? "Firia boldly accused. She wasn't exactly sure of this accusation, but she knew that there was at least a fifty percent chance that Xelloss had been at the root of her troubles. After all, he usually was.

"Well now," Xelloss began, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess it's easy to see right through me, isn't it? How embarrassing. But you are correct..."

"I knew it!" Firia murmured contemptuously, glaring at him. "The day you're not up to some kind of mischief will be the day the world ends! So how and what did you do to split us up? Did you use a spell or something?"

"Wow! Correct again. I just used a little trick spell I picked up," Xelloss explained, dismissing the subject with a shrug. If separating an entire group was a 'trick spell', Firia wondered what sorts of powerful spells Xelloss was capable of casting. She knew he was strong, she just hadn't been able to see that much of what he could do so far.

"Welllll, would you mind telling me what in the world HAPPENED?" Firia demanded in irritation. "I can't really remember, and this is all confusing me."

"Try to remember the last thing that happened to you before you woke up," Xelloss encouraged. "I'm sure it will come to you." Firia concentrated, searching her brain for all the unclear memories it held. Finally, it came to her.

'"_What's going on?" Lina asked nervously, staring around at the path they were standing on. Firia didn't answer, sensing that something had gone very wrong as well. The ground was rumbling, beginning to wildly rock back in forth and develop thin cracks in certain areas. Ameria gave a scream of surprise as she was knocked forcefully from her feet in one violent motion. _

"_It's powered by magic!" Zelgadiss shouted over the increasing rumbling noise. This was obvious since the path had been peaceful just seconds ago. The chimera rushed over to Ameria's side and grabbed one of her shoulders in an attempt to help her regain her footing. He was also knocked over, though, and tumbled on top of Ameria, making the situation even worse._

"_Xe- Huh? THAT BACKSTABBER'S GONE!" Lina yelled over the roaring, stumbling in a crazy pattern as the ground began to toss and turn unnaturally._

"_LINA!" Gourry yelled to her, trying to get nearer to her but falling as the wild ground knocked him off of his feet as well._

"_Lina! Ameria! Zelgadiss! Gourry!" Firia called, realizing with a sickening feeling that she was the farthest away from the group, having hung back slightly. She tried to take a step forward, but was blown furiously back by a blast of air. Firia could feel her consciousness slipping out of her body, and was already unconscious when she hit the rumbling ground.'_

That was all she could remember. The next thing that Firia had seen was the forest area she was in at this time. But Firia remembered enough to begin piecing parts of Xelloss's plans together. The Mazoku had obviously needed all six of them together for something. He even needed Firia. For what, though? Xelloss also wanted or needed something in that building they were going to, but he wasn't able to get it himself.

"You were the one that caused the ground to go wild earlier. Why would you want to do something like that? Why split the group up?" Firia questioned. She decided that she would somehow get a clear answer from him, even if it was the last thing she did. Xelloss was dangerous, however, and she wisely kept the conversation at least a little bit under control. Something was strange, though. Xelloss had purposely directed Fira and himself towards the area Lina was staying in simply so they could meet up. The group had only been together for a week or two, so why had he already separated them?

"Simply because it was only a matter of time before Lina blasted me with a powerful spell. It's not as if she was that much of a threat to me at this time, just an inconvenience. Plus, Gourry, Ameria, and Zelgadiss are all completely useless to me, so it's nice to get them out of the way," Xelloss explained. Firia noted that Xelloss was giving away a lot more information then he usually would. This worried her, since it could mean that he was preparing to attack.

"I don't understand. What do you want them to help you with? And why are you telling me all this?" Firia asked, still leaning against the tree, but half-preparing to run for it.

"Try to relax, Firia-san. I have no intention of harming anyone and I will gladly explain anything you want me to," Xelloss offered, then added with a dark smile. "In return, you simply have to cooperate with me."

"Fine. Then answer my question!" Firia demanded, trying to hide her fear.

"I want Lina to take care of all the slightly difficult obstacles that I would have had to take care of. The enemies, the traps, any trouble you could think of," Xelloss answered, raising his body off the ground to once again hover.

"And me?" Firia gulped, staring in fear at the powerful Mazoku.

"I need you to use your holy magic to open the seals holding the white magic building shut," Xelloss admitted. So that was it. Firia had figured that it would be something like that.

"But what does a Mazoku want with white magic?" Firia asked.

"I don't want the white magic," Xelloss explained, his eyes opening- a hungry expression inside them. "You see, this building is none other then one of the many hidden labs of Rezo the Red Priest." Suddenly all the pieces fit together in Firia's mind.

"You mean-?" She began, but was unable to finish.

"Exactly," Xelloss replied shortly. "Rezo researched white magic in hope of healing the darkness that he was cursed with since birth. He learned and invented many, many white magic spells in many spread out secret labs. But even the strongest healing spell could not open his eyes since they were sealed shut. Desperate, Rezo turned to dark magic. Though it is unknown to most people, Rezo studied a multitude of horrible magic, and even learned to summon high-level Mazoku. The Great Priest, unfortunately, died only a few years ago. However, most of his labs were sealed with such great spells that only a sacred weapon like the Sword of Light or an experienced Holy Magic spell could open them. He also hired many of the summoned Mazoku to guard areas like these- which is why I think that so many people have died."

Xelloss finished off his lengthy explanation, turning to Firia with a questioning look on his face. Firia didn't know what to say. Xelloss had looped everyone into his plan so that they would kill off all of the enemy Mazoku and provide him with a way inside. Xelloss was most likely searching for a deadly magical spell, one that might revive Shabranigdu or something. But Firia couldn't refuse- her life, and possibly the lives of her other companions, rode on her decision.

"I'll help you- but, let me warn you now, try anything crazy like attacking me or my companions and I'll no longer do what you ask. But if you simply want to find a spell, I'll temporarily listen to what you say," Firia compromised, pleased that she did not have to completely agree with the Mazoku.

"Whatever you say," Xelloss chuckled with an amused grin. It bugged Firia how much he enjoyed her negative emotions, but she was in no position to call him names or hit him with her mace. Firia released her weight from the tree and stood on wobbly legs.

"We'll have to wait a couple days around this area so Lina will hit some enemies. I'm not sure what they look like, but I think that they're lesser demons summoned by the Red Priest. Or perhaps even a few low-level Mazoku are among them. Once again, not a threat, but an inconvenience," Xelloss assured Firia.

"This is a dirty trick. Let Lina beat all the enemies and then take all the treasure," Firia mumbled. "I hate to join up with you, but it's the only way to keep you out of mischief."

"Alright, then," Xelloss agreed. "You need to stay around me to keep me out of trouble, and I need you to open that seal around the door. I'm glad we can reach an agreement, even if it is a bit of a shaky one." His words sunk in, and Firia sullenly glared at him.

"Let's get one thing straight. I will NEVER agree with a Mazoku," She growled firmly.

"Whatever you want to call it," Xelloss answered with an amused grin. "But you're still temporarily teaming up with me. Isn't that kind of like agreeing?"

"What have I gotten myself into...?" Firia asked herself, trying to hide her burning negative emotions so she wouldn't encourage Xelloss. What HAD she gotten herself into? A load of trouble.

**End Note: **Disappointed? SORRY! Okay, anyways... I hope this wasn't too bad of a chapter. I'll try and not take so long to update next time...heh heh heh. Thank you for all of your support so far; this Fanficition is over half way finished!


	21. Chapter 21: SplitUp Part two

**Disclaimer: **No.

**Beginning Note: **He he... Don't worry, this fic still lives. But phew... it was really buried under other fics for while, eh? Sorry, sorry... this is a short chapter with a lot of dialogue. But I will try and make it up to you readers. I will update, like, tomorrow, honest! I already have the next chapter all ready! Now, please enjoy! Oh, and thanks for all the encouragement for my band audition. It was thanks to you that I passed it.

**Chapter 21: **The Split Up (Part Two)

"Lina? Are you alright?"

Lina heard Gourry's concerned voice and tried to open her heavy eyelids, groaning as pain flooded her body. Finally she managed to make out Gourry's blurred figure, kneeling above her. Oh gosh. Her forehead hurt so much. What had happened? Hadn't everything been going okay just moments ago?

"Gourry?" Lina choked out, reaching out a trembling hand like a child trying to touch a distant star. As Gourry came into focus, Lina felt his warm hand wrap itself tightly around her cold gloved one. How reassuring it felt. Lina tried to concentrate through the pain, hearing Gourry's voice speaking to her.

"Lina! I'm so glad! You've been lying silently here for hours without saying a thing. I thought you were seriously hurt," Gourry breathed in relief. Lina forced herself into a seated position by exerting force on Gourry's hand. She slowly looked around, feeling horribly dizzy and pained.

"I'm okay. Not seriously hurt, at least. Where is this place...?" Lina asked in confusion. This was not the dirt path they had been traveling on in a group from earlier. Trees loomed over them from all sides and the grass grew wildly. This was deep in a forest- a forest that Lina had never been to before. The scents and visuals were like nothing Lina was used to.

"I don't know. Not the dirt path we were on earlier!" Gourry stated, shading his eyes with one hand as he scanned the area.

"Ah! Am I bleeding?" Lina muttered to herself, reaching a hand upwards and tenderly brushing her throbbing forehead. She glanced at her finger at saw that it was wet with red blood.

"It started bleeding again?" Gourry murmured, examining the wound on her forehead gently. "It was bleeding earlier but I managed to stop the blood."

"You don't seem hurt," Lina observed, looking at Gourry. "Why is it just me? I feel sore all over." Lina glanced own at her leg and saw that dark red blood was soaking through her pant leg near the ankle. Other then that, there seemed to be no other wounds.

"Once again, I don't know," Gourry admitted. "While you were unconscious, I searched the surrounding area. It seems that none of the others are close by."

"WHAT?" Lina gasped. "Could Xelloss have-?

Lina nodded, her breath caught uncomfortable in her throat. She reached a hand upwards and muttered, "Recovery." A white orb of magical power grew from her palm and washed most of the pain away from her bleeding forehead.

"I think I remember Xelloss warping up the path we were on earlier with some sort of spell. That could be what got us out here."

"But why would Xelloss want to transport us out into the middle of the forest?" Gourry questioned.

"Good question," Lina acknowledged. "But I know one thing for sure. This forest isn't just any old forest. Deep inside is that white magic building; I'm almost sure of it!" Gourry thought Lina's words through. Since he was concentrating hard, he could pretty much follow along and understand every thing she was saying.

"Xelloss already said that his plans didn't involve killing anyone and, though he lies and hides the truth far too much, I'm going believe him on this one," she continued.

"Okay. So what ARE we going to do?" Gourry asked, scratching his head in confusion.

"Well," Lina began slowly, thinking through the question as she answered. "We can't let Xelloss have his way, whatever it may be. In this situation, it would be smarter and safer to get out of this forest and figure out where the heck we are, and what exactly is inside this forest besides a magical building. But, considering that if we did that we would lose valuable time, I think we should head deeper into the forest towards the building's presence. You feel it, right, Gourry?" Gourry paused for a few seconds, then turned back to Lina and shook his head.

"Not a thing. And I'm normally good with presences..."

"It must be my magical power," theorized Lina. "Why else would you not be able to sense something I sense. Whatever the case, I can feel the building and that's the direction we'll go in." As always, her strategy lacked any consideration of the dangers involved. She took and confident step forward, a bit off of exactly straight ahead. Gourry, totally dependent on Lina, followed after her. As she walked, she wondered about her theory from earlier. Was this really one of the Red Priest's labs, like in Sairaag? There was a good chance, considering that she felt a huge source of magical power radiating from the building. What WAS that? A simple building couldn't have that much power.

"You sure you don't feel a thing?" Lina asked Gourry, the strength of the magical power throwing off her concentration.

"Not a thing," Gourry stated shortly, shaking his head.

"Strange." Was Lina's final remark on the subject as they continued along. The sooner they got to this building the better. Lina could hardly wait to find about what kind of rare object could create a feeling so strong.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Firia had wound up in a thin part of the forest, Lina and Gourry had been transported to a dense part of the forest, and Zelgadiss and Ameria had been transported to a dead part of the forest. Brown leaves that had fallen from the dead trees crackled under their feet with every step. Both Zelgadiss and Ameria had received minor injuries from the transportation, but nothing serious enough to stop their traveling.

After being transported to the dead side of the forest, Zelgadiss and Ameria, like the others, had figured out that this had been Xelloss's doing. Not knowing what else to do, the two had pressed on, in hopes of finding Lina or Firia. It felt rather awkward for just the two of them to be alone, without Lina or Gourry around like usual. The two of them were only alone on rare occasions. They struck up a conversation every once in awhile as they walked, but each time they faded away after a few minutes, neither one able to think of something better to say.

Ameria could tell that something was bugging Zelgadiss, but didn't know whether she should ask him or not.

Finally, she could stand the silence no longer. "Zelgadiss-san?" Ameria stopped in the middle of a crackling step, her voice soft and slightly hesitant. Zelgadiss paused as well, looking questioningly at Ameria.

"Is something bothering you?" Ameria asked. "You were upset a day or so earlier, and now you seem as if something is bugging you once again. If you want to, we could talk about it...?"

"No..." Zelgadiss began, but then gave a reluctant sigh. Slumping down against one of the dead trees, Zelgadiss absently spun a dried leaf between his fingers, picking out the right words to say. Ameria, pleased that he actually wanted to talk things through, sat down beside him, leaning on a different side of the same tree Zelgadiss was leaning on. For awhile he didn't speak, but continued to fiddle with the leaf. But at last he chose his words and broke the silence.

"It's Rezo again..." Zelgadiss murmured, staring blankly at the leaf. Ameria tilted her head to one side, looking questioningly at Zelgadiss. Once again, he looked so upset. Ameria once again realized that Zelgadiss had closeness to Rezo like she had with her own father. How painful it must have been to watch someone so close to you slowly destroy themselves with insanity until they finally faded away...

"Do you miss him?" Ameria asked, knowing that this had been the problem last time. Zelgadiss shook his head, biting anxiously at his thumbnail as he continued to think.

"It's not that-" Zelgadiss began, but then broke off again. He had obviously forgotten the words that he had planned to say. Taking the conversation a different way, Zelgadiss spoke of earlier times. "Remember earlier this morning...was it? We were all talking about the possibilities of what Xelloss's plan could be, since he had shown up so late?" Ameria nodded.

"Well," Zelgadiss started, drawing out the word as he stalled for time. He seemed to find the dried leaf very interesting. "Towards the end, something that Lina said just clicked. Everything makes sense..."

"What are you talking about, Zelgadiss-san?" Ameria asked in bewilderment.

"The white magic building is actually one of Rezo's labs," Zelgadiss replied seriously, his mouth curling downwards in a slight frown. Ameria couldn't believe her ears.

"W-what makes you think that!" she stammered in amazement. Ameria remembered Rezo's lab in Sairaag. It had been so massive and filled with rare knowledge that it was hard to believe that he had more then one.

"The first clue was given to me by Firia," Zelgadiss explained. "She knew of one of Rezo's labs around this general area, though I mistook it for the lab we encountered in Sairaag." Zelgadiss held up two fingers as he continued his explanation. "Second, Xelloss has no use for white magic. And, third, feel the presence rising from this building." Ameria did as she was told.

"It's not normal," she admitted after a second. "And it's definitely not pure. It's evil or something... dark magic..." Zelgadiss nodded in agreement to Ameria's analysis. Zelgadiss clutched his arm as he grew more anxious.

"Keep feeling the presence. If you concentrate..." he broke off, frowning and narrowing his eyes. "I can't quite make it out..."

"It's..." Ameria started, biting her lip and clenching her fists as she concentrated. "...living... or maybe not living...not a Mazoku either..." How confusing. At times it felt almost like a person's presence, someone with an immense magical capacity. But the next second it felt more like a magical objects power source.

"Do you think-?" Zelgadiss began, his voice rising in excitement. Ameria shook her head before he could finish, stating the truth firmly. She obviously knew the direction he was headed in, having figured out the way his mind worked over time.

"Rezo is dead, Zelgadiss-san. Though he hosted Shabranigdu... he was still human. Just like you." Ameria gave Zelgadiss a half-hearted smile, not knowing anything cheerful to say.

"Right...I could just feel something..." Zelgadiss muttered, looking at the ground as he let the dried leaf slip from his hand. His eyes looked so empty and lonely that Ameria felt she had to do something. Zelgadiss felt a reassuring pat on his shoulder, but didn't even bother to look at Ameria. He was too deep in thought. Ameria let her hand slip weakly from his shoulder and gazed into his empty eyes. Zelgadiss, extremely lost in thought, was oblivious to her gaze. She didn't like to see Zelgadiss in so much pain, and wished desperately that the silence would end. Finally, the situation took a surprising turn.

"But you're right. Thanks," He murmured softly, standing up slowly. Zelgadiss then placed his hand gently on Ameria's shoulder, though just for a second, and smiled softly at her. Then, before she could register what had happened, her turned and walked away from her, simply saying, "Come on, now." Ameria could not hole back the smile that spread across her face. By his eyes she could tell that Zelgadiss was in pain, but he was trying to cheer her up by pretending that he felt better. How... unlike the old Zelgadiss.

'Zelgadiss-san...' Ameria thought words in her head that she didn't have the nerve to say. 'You seem to think that you're a bad or selfish person, but I don't think that at all. Since the first time I saw you, you have been slowly changing. Just now you have shown me that you have shaped in a kind, warm person.' She then tore Zelgadiss from her thoughts and followed his commands by following him.

**End Note: **I hoped you liked this chapter. I can almost guarantee another update tomorrow. Thanks, everyone! And yes, I AM obsessed with Rezo, thanks for asking. Oh yeah! I suddenly remembered why this chapter took over a month. I'm starting a doujinshi and it's sapping up my time. (I'm posting the fanficition based on this doujinshi right after I finish posting allllll of Stone Cold!) I hope I didn't miss replying to anyone's reviews...


	22. Chapter 22: Healed Past

**Disclaimer: **The opposite of yes.

**Beginning Note: **Well, this proves that I can't get ANYTHING out on time. I promised you a chapter over a week ago, but just never got around to posting it. I'm sorry about last chapter. It was slightly rushed and not my best work. I, personally, think that this chapter is better, but I don't know what you'll think. Please enjoy.

**Chapter 22: **The Healed Past

"HI, FI-CHAN!"

Firia let out a startled shriek as the trickster priest teleported, out of the blue, just inches from her face. Her knees gave out and Firia looked up at Xelloss from the ground, panting in surprise and glaring furiously at him.

"Don't DO that!" Firia commanded after she managed to catch her breath, her heart still pounding. Xelloss simply chuckled in amusement, pleased with Firia's reaction. He had been out gathering information for a couple hours, leaving Firia to catch up on her rest while he did so. Now that he had returned, Xelloss thought that they were pretty much ready to begin traveling again. But he just couldn't resist frightening Firia when he got the chance.

"H-hey! Who said you could call me 'Fi-Chan', anyways?" Firia added as Xelloss's words sunk in. She realized to her horror that she was blushing bright red and furiously scrubbed her face with her hands in a hasty attempt to block out the blush. Not before Xelloss noticed it, however. He smirked mischievously, enjoying her humiliation.

"Do I need permission to call you Fi-chan, Fi-chan?" Xelloss questioned in an irritating voice. Firia couldn't find her words for a second, then finally managed to regain her confidence and stood back up, stomping her foot in frustration.

"Yes! Call me 'Fi-ri-a' or NOTHING ELSE!" She ordered, trembling with rage. Xelloss did not even attempt to hold back a grin. She never failed to disappoint him, always supplying him with a fresh meal of negative emotions. He was tempted to continue tormenting her for a bit longer, but wanted to reach the building even more. So, he reluctantly gave in.

"Okay, okay. FI-RI-A-saaaaaan," Xelloss agreed, drawing out the length of the syllables. Firia gave a stubborn snort of approval and grudgingly accepted that he was finished with the subject. It was the fact that she had been blushing that really tore at Firia's nerves.

"So, what did you learn while gathering information?" Firia asked. Then, as a second thought, she added threateningly, "And if you DARE say 'That is a secret' then I will MURDER you!"

"Oh! Murder me, huh? Guess I'd better give you a straight answer," Xelloss replied, his tone one of mock horror. She DID have a right to know since she was going to willingly use Holy Magic for him at his command. The least he could do was tell what he knew. Besides, the stubborn dragon might refuse to help him if he didn't tell her everything he knew. And it wasn't as if the information he had gotten was anything special that he needed to hide from Firia... He sighed, sorting through the miniscule bit of information he had gathered, and finally began to speak.

"Well, I'm afraid I didn't find out much," Xelloss began hesitantly, deciding where he should begin. "Most of the information were just town rumors, though I did spy on the others a little bit and found out a bit of useful stuff." He suddenly stopped his speaking and looked questioningly at Firia.

"About how strong is your Holy Magic, Firia-san? I've only seen you use it once or twice..." Xelloss asked, tilting his head to one side as he thought.

"Pretty strong, I'd say. I learned all of the basic spells and some of the advanced ones," Firia supplied, raising one of her eyebrows as she looked at Xelloss. "Why?"

"Because I needed to know whether you would be strong enough to break us into the sealed building," Xelloss replied, and then continued with his original explanation. "Anyways, I found out from an intelligent-looking villager that only the truly strong sources of white magic can get in. Like your ancient type of Holy Magic, belonging to only the Golden Dragons." Firia nodded to show him that she understood and waited for him to continue.

"Therefore, I'm not sure if the others will be able to break into the sealed building," Xelloss concluded, causing Firia to gasp in surprise.

"Eh? Seriously? But Ameria knows a bit of white magic..." She trailed off, looking anxiously at Xelloss.

"None strong enough to get inside," Xelloss replied, shaking his head firmly. "The sword of light would have done the trick, but Gourry no longer has that, does he?" Firia bit her lip, thinking through Xelloss's words. Then she finally nodded, agreeing with his words.

"So that means... we're the only ones who can get in?" Firia finally summarized, cocking her head to one side.

"Bingo!" Xelloss exclaimed, flashing a thumbs up. But his tone grew slightly more serious as he looked into the situation more deeply. "But Lina-san will most likely find a way," he murmured thoughtfully. "She always seems to find a way around things. There might be a password or a key of some sorts, since this is the Red Priest we're dealing with."

"Right," Firia agreed. Xelloss was bringing up some great points and Firia wished to do so as well, but couldn't think of much to say. Finally, a thought hit her and her eyes widened. "But... if Rezo's dead, then wouldn't the Mazoku he summoned to kill invaders no longer be active?"

"That's not the way it works. They would just no longer be under his control, though still bound to their assigned area until death, I believe," Xelloss explained thoughtfully. "Oh, but there was something interesting I heard from spying on Zelgadiss."

"What?" Firia asked eagerly.

"The Red Priest's presence, or something like it, is coming from the building for some reason," Xelloss informed. Firia could find nothing to say when she heard this information. She wondered thoughtfully if it were possible for one who had died to still be living somehow. Xelloss had obviously finished giving all of his information, and they both sat in silence as they thought the situation over. Finally, Xelloss spoke again.

"Well, Fi-Chan? Should we get going so we can solve all of these mysteries as soon as possible?" He asked brightly, breaking her from her trance.

"Firia! FI-RI-A!" She shrieked in rage. He simply shrugged and began traveling the path ahead, leaving Firia to stumble after him, calling for him to slow down.

OOOOOOOOO

"Still feel it?" Ameria asked, a bit concerned for her companion.

"Faintly. It's not nearly as strong as it was before. And it doesn't feel like Rezo anymore," Zelgadiss described, squinted his eyes and craning his neck forwards as he tried to once again sense his great-grandfather. The two of them were still traveling forward, the crackling, dead leaves not getting any fresher as they went on. It seemed as if they had made no progress in the last day and a half of straight traveling. This was a problem because there was no food or water around the area, aside from the packs that Zelgadiss and Ameria had brought with them. Zelgadiss estimated that the rations would last for about another day; or three if they restricted themselves to eating basically nothing. Zelgadiss's body required less food then Ameria's, so he had given her some of his food. But they were still both hungry.

"So, it's not Rezo?" Ameria questioned curiously. "I mean, I know it can't be Rezo since he's dead... But it doesn't FEEL like him either?"

"I don't know," Zelgadiss replied honestly. The presence he had felt earlier slipped in and out of focus, making it impossible for him to judge who it belonged to. Earlier Zelgadiss had felt the power of Rezo so strongly that it had left him dizzy and breathless. But now he could hardly even make out a presence at all. He decided to drop the search for now and let silence fill the area. Ameria, however, didn't approve of the yawning gap of silence and promptly broke it.

"Can I ask you a question, Zelgadiss-san?" She asked, looking over at her stubbornly silent friend as they walked.

"Yes. What is it?" Zelgadiss encouraged, his voice sounding slightly distracted.

"I heard from Lina a few years ago that you used to want to kill Rezo," Ameria began, still looking anxiously at him. Zelgadiss rolled his eyes, mentally thanking Lina for spilling every single one his life secrets to Ameria.

She continued. "But now, Zelgadiss-san, your desire to kill him has left. Why did you forgive Rezo?"

"Well," Zelgadiss began, but then stopped speaking. Ameria's question had been a good one, and he had to search deep in his feelings to find the answer. Ameria misunderstood his silence.

"I-I'm sorry," she hastily stammered, waving her hands frantically around in a flustered circle. "I didn't mean to get too personal."

"That's not it," Zelgadiss corrected. "I'm just not sure exactly. Maybe it's because I used to think of him as a God or something. What I mean is, I thought he was perfect. When I was just a child, I was blind to all of his flaws and only saw his good points." Zelgadiss trailed off and looked at his blue stone fingertips through the finger holes in his gloves. "But when he turned me into a chimera, I guess I realized for the first time that he was imperfect. This realization really tore me apart inside, shattering my image of him. I hated him because he had betrayed me, and turned my body this way. I hated him because he was imperfect. Then... when he died... I guess I realized that he was only human like me. No human could be perfect, and Rezo was no exception. He had problems of his own...problems that hurt him deeply. I saw this during our final battle with him. This allowed me to forgive my great-grandfather."

Ameria soaked in his words, glad that her companion was speaking so deeply to her instead of pulling away and blocking himself off from her. But before she could reply, Zelgadiss spoke again.

"Ameria? Could I ask you a question?" Zelgadiss asked, repeating her earlier request.

"Yes. I owe you an answer, after all," Ameria agreed, wondering what sort of thing Zelgadiss would ask.

"I used to treat you pretty badly, didn't I?" Zelgadiss began, thinking deeply. "I snapped and you and was very short with you. I probably hurt your feelings. Yet you always seemed to be nice to me. What made you act like that?"

"That's easy," Ameria answered without hesitation. "I could see in your eyes the way you really were. I wanted to get to know the Zelgadiss inside of you, and I was prepared to work at it for awhile to get that privilege." Her words surprised Zelgadiss. His face flushed slightly and he couldn't find the right words to say. So he instead just nodded weakly to signal that he had heard, and reached over to grab Ameria's hand.

Ameria's heart beat wildly in her chest. Zelgadiss had just reached over and took hold of her hands. They were holding hands. This was something Ameria had dreamed of since the day she had known him. His stone hands were firm and warm, and gave Ameria's entire body a sense of security. Heart fluttering, she gripped his hand as well as they continued to walk.

"Was this Zelgadiss you got to know... worth the hassle you went through?" Zelgadiss asked timidly, avoiding her eyes. Even though his face was turned from her, she could see that the tips of his ears were red with embarrassment.

"Yes. Worth a thousand times the hassle," Ameria breathed softly, her face red as well. She assumed that the conversation had ended with these words, and the two of them continued to walk- hand in hand. Zelgadiss knew then that he wanted nothing to happen to Ameria. He wanted to keep her safe and protect her; to make sure that she could continue to live and travel with the Zelgadiss she had gotten to know. Ameria was simply glad that Zelgadiss had learned to trust again.

**End Note: **Was it better? I edited it carefully, and I hope that there are not many spelling/ punctuation errors. I feel like I should explain a couple things. Xelloss only called Firia 'Fi-chan' because he felt like it would be a new, effective way to irritate her, if that confused anyone. Firia was blushing from ANGER, not from ATTRACTION. And, about Rezo, I believe that Zelgadiss and Rezo were closer then the series made them seem. So Zelgadiss's reasons for forgiving Rezo might be different then what most people believe. Just wanted to clear those things up...And my chapters are getting sappier and sappier, aren't they? Gosh, I'm being such a chatter box. Anyways, I won't guarantee an update on any specific date, but I'll try to make it fairly soon. Not TWO WHOLE months like last time, at least. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And I hope I didn't miss replying to any reviews. I'll shut up now.


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